Good for Nigeria, bad for Ghana: Troost-Ekong heads to Abidjan as eight withdraw from Black Stars’ squad

Nigeria and Ghana are heading into their final qualifying games for the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations with vastly different fortunes, Soccernet.ng reports.

The Super Eagles need just a point from their last two games to secure their spot at the continental showpiece.

Nigeria will face Benin on November 14 and Rwanda on November 18, and interim head coach Augustine Eguavoen has invited a 23-man squad to Abidjan, where the team has set up camp for the Benin match.

Two players – Nasarawa United’s Victor Collins and New England Revolution’s Alhassan Yusuf – reported to camp on Monday, several hours after it opened.

Team captain William Troost-Ekong also confirmed his participation by sharing on Twitter that he was en route to join his international teammates in Abidjan.

https://twitter.com/WTroostEkong/status/1855965197866815744

The full squad is expected to assemble before Tuesday’s training session, as the Super Eagles gear up for Thursday’s clash with Benin’s Cheetahs.

Ghana in crisis

While Nigeria’s preparations remain on track, Ghana face significant challenges ahead of their own crucial qualifiers.

The Black Stars need a miracle to qualify for AFCON 2025, sitting on just two points from their first four games.

With Angola already qualified, Ghana’s path to Morocco looks bleak, as Sudan – currently second with seven points – need only two more to eliminate Ghana.

To make matters worse, eight players have withdrawn from the Ghana squad, leaving the team severely depleted.

Star forward Iñaki Williams of Athletic Bilbao, Alexander Djiku, Tariq Lamptey, Ibrahim Osman, Jonas Adjetey, Antoine Semenyo, Jerome Opoku, and Joseph Paintsil will all miss the upcoming matches due to injuries or personal reasons.

Meanwhile, Osman Bukari, Ransford Yeboah Koningsdorffer, Forson Amankwah, Terry Yegbe, Ebenezer Annan and Kingsley Schindler have been called up to replace the eight players who pulled out of the Ghana squad.

Nigeria, three-time AFCON champions, appear poised to secure another appearance, while Ghana, despite boasting four AFCON titles, is on the brink of elimination in the qualifiers for Morocco 2025.