Nigeria booked their spot at the 2024 African Nations Championship (CHAN) with a 3-1 victory over Ghana at the Godswill Akpabio Stadium in Uyo on Saturday.

The victory ensured that Super Eagles B will feature in the tournament’s eighth edition, set to take place across Tanzania, Kenya, and Uganda in February 2025.

The match was a spectacular showcase of Nigeria’s dominance, with three well-crafted goals in just six minutes.

Despite Ghana’s coach Mas-Ud Didi Dramani expressing confidence before the game, it was Nigeria that dictated proceedings from the outset. Captain Junior Nduka’s pinpoint long pass in the 18th minute found Ismaila Sodiq, who effortlessly beat the offside trap and fired past goalkeeper Benjamin Asare to open the scoring.

Two minutes later, Nigeria nearly doubled their lead, but Adamu Abubakar’s effort was deflected just wide by Ghanaian defender Abban Ebenezer. From the resulting corner kick, Nduka capitalised on a lapse in Ghana’s defence to slot home Nigeria’s second goal.

The Super Eagles added their third in the 23rd minute after a defensive mix-up between Asare and Nurudeen Abdulai allowed Saviour Isaac to pounce and calmly finish past the stranded goalkeeper.

Ghana managed to pull one back in the 72nd minute when Stephen Amankona’s quick interplay with Albert Amoah resulted in a well-placed shot past Nigerian goalkeeper Henry Ozoemena. However, it was merely a consolation as Nigeria celebrated their return to CHAN at the expense of their archrivals.

The victory capped a year of disappointment for Ghana, following the Black Stars’ early exit at the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON), failure to qualify for next year’s AFCON, and the inability of the Black Starlets to secure a spot in the Africa U17 Cup of Nations.

Nigeria will now focus on preparing for the 2024 CHAN finals, aiming to improve on their previous silver medal finish in Morocco in 2018.