The rivalry pendulum has swung from Ghana to Nigeria over the years in sports, culinary delights, music, and arts.
From the all-time global classics of Fela Kuti to Osibisa, top-scoring Asamoah Gyan to Rashidi Yekini, and the on-screen skills of Ramsey Noah to Majid Michel, the healthy rivalry between both countries will live long in the memories of millions.
On a vibrant and colourful day of February 3, 2008, at the Accra Sports Stadium, Ghana, the Super Eagles of Nigeria harboured an ambitious but laughable plan of upsetting the host country of the Africa Cup of Nations in the quarter-finals.
Perhaps the Nigerians, at a brief moment on that day, felt they could turn on a party mode with highlife music when Yakubu Ayigbeni smashed the Super Eagles into an undeserved lead from the penalty spot in the 35th minute after he was brought down by Eric Addo.
The green and white eagles silenced a majority of the spectators in the stadium and erupted into the famous kangaroo dance, a trademark dance of the Black Stars during the competition, visibly mocking the Ghanaians.
Man-of-the-match and leader of men, Michael Essien, held his resolve to head the home team’s equaliser in the stoppage time of the first half. Just imagine the reaction of the passionate supporters, not only in the stands but in every home, pub, hotel, and viewing centres across the country.
Then came the late great and APSU pride, Junior Agogo, scoring the winner, his most cherished goal, in the 83rd minute when he tapped the ball into the net from Sulley Muntari’s low drive into the penalty box.
“Honestly, you can’t beat my feelings when I scored against Nigeria… I’ve scored a lot of goals in my career, but the ones against Nigeria are the most memorable because Nigeria is one of the best teams in the world,” the late Agogo said after the game.
The sheer will of the Black Stars to ensure they emerged victorious even after going down to ten men when captain John Mensah was sent off three minutes before the defining moment of the game.
At the G-Tech stadium on May 28, the two nations will relight the flame of their rivalry, but this time in an international yet competitive friendly in the 2025 Unity Cup.
The tournament, which will be exclusively live on Max TV, will serve as a unique opportunity for Otto Addo [Ghana] and Èric Chelle [Nigeria] to reassess and restrategize ahead of the resumption of the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifiers.
Unity Cup 2025 — Ghana vs. Nigeria
Throwback to CAN 2008. Michael Essien and Junior Agogo lead Ghana to a comeback win over Nigeria. #MaxTV pic.twitter.com/ZJfT8hrxie
— Max TV Ghana (@maxtvgh) May 15, 2025
