Ghana -- Nigeria football rivalry - wikipedia Ghana -- Nigeria football rivalry Ghana -- Nigeria football rivalry 2008 Africa Cup of Nations Quarter - Final Teams Ghana Nigeria First meeting Ghana 1 -- 0 Nigeria Friendly ( 16 October 1950 ) Latest meeting Nigeria 0 - 0 ( 1 - 4 p ) Ghana 2014 African Nations Championship ( 29 January 2014 ) Next meeting TBD Statistics Meetings total 56 All - time series Ghana : 25 Draw : 19 Nigeria : 12 Largest victory Ghana 7 -- 0 Nigeria Jalco Cup ( 1 June 1955 ) The Ghana -- Nigeria football rivalry is a sports rivalry that exists between the national football teams of Ghana and Nigeria, as well as their respective sets of fans. The sport has been played since prior to both countries ' respective independence, and the match - up is among the oldest and most proliferate rivalries in African football. The football competition reflects the long - standing socio - economic rivalry between the two nations, which are two of the five Anglophone nations in West Africa and home to the largest populations in the region. Contents 1 Background and history 2 Regional Cup Era 2.1 1951 - 59 Jalco Cup 2.2 1959 - 67 Dr Kwame Nkrumah Gold Cup 2.3 1961 - 67 Azikiwe Cup 2.4 Titles 3 Matches between the two countries : Tournaments and friendlies 3.1 Totals 3.2 By match 4 See also 5 References 6 External links Background and History FIFA lists the first official match between the two as a World Cup qualifier taking place in 1960. However both national teams had already engaged in numerous domestic friendlies and tournaments between themselves and other nations dating back to 1950. The national teams of these two West African countries were formed while both were still protectorates of the British Empire. At that time the modern nation of Ghana was known as the Gold Coast and members of the team from Nigeria, prior to adopting their national colors of green and white, wore scarlet tops over white shorts and were known as the `` Red Devils ''. Gold Coast 's football federation, founded in 1920, was over twenty years older than Nigeria 's and its team was more respected among Britain 's colonies. Prior to what is often considered to be first official International `` A '' match in 1951, the Gold Coast national team had also already toured England, playing friendly matches against various clubs. Not to be outdone, Nigeria followed suit to a lesser degree of success. However, despite their relative histories, Nigeria was able to upset their nascent rivals 5 - 0 on home soil. The two nations played to relative parity for much of the rest of the 1950s, mostly trading victories on respective home soil, but Ghana would go on to dominate much of the competition between the 1960s and the early 2000s and win the Africa Cup of Nations four times to Nigeria 's two in that time period. In the meantime, Nigeria would enjoy more success in intercontinental competition, qualifying multiple times for the FIFA World Cup and reaching an African highest FIFA ranking of No. 5 in the world in 1994. The team further distinguished themselves with memorable runs to the knockout stages that year and 1998, beating Spain and coming within minutes of defeating international powerhouse and eventual 1994 finalists Italy. Regional Cup era Until 1960 Egypt was the only African nation to ever participate in FIFA World Cup qualifying. Since decolonization had yet to begun in earnest, few nations on the African continent were able to assemble national teams that were internationally recognized and thus eligible for FIFA competitions. Various rivalry cups and tournaments were instituted instead. During the 1950s and 1960s, Nigeria and Ghana would compete in three cup competitions. 1951 - 59 Jalco Cup There are various records of matches having been played between the national teams dating back to 1938. These unofficial matches list the scores and winners but, as with the match in 1938, specific details such as player lineups and often even the exact date that the match took place, are unknown. The Jalco Cup matches, which were sponsored by Nigerian company Joe Allen & Co, are widely agreed upon as the beginning of the historical record of the rivalry. The cup was contested between the two countries every year except 1952. 1959 - 67 Dr. Kwame Nkrumah Gold Cup 1959 Ghanaian postage stamp published to advertise the Dr Kwame Nkrumah Gold Cup. After Ghanain independence the country 's football officials harbored ambitions of competing in the Olympic Games. To this end they met with officials from the most prominent West African nations, including Nigeria, to create the West African Soccer Federation. The aim of the new federation was to sponsor a regional football tournament which would help to raise the level of the game in the respective nations for future participation in international tournaments. The result was the Dr. Kwame Nkrumah Gold Cup, also called the West African Soccer Federation championship. The tournament had middling success ; it was plagued from the outset by organizational and funding shortfalls. In the initial tournament in 1959, the qualifying stages were only partially completed. In addition, Nigeria did not appear for the semifinal of that tournament, and the match had to be replaced with an exhibition game played as a stand - in. Also the fourth and final tournament in 1967 was postponed following issues having to do with the lack of lighting during the qualifying matches and subsequent complaints on the issue by the Sierra Leone players. There is no record of the final tournament ever having been completed. Despite these issues, the tournament would see two matches played between Ghana and Nigeria, the high point being when the two sides met in the final of the 1960 tournament in Lagos, Nigeria in which Ghana won 3 - 0. Both matches played between the two sides during the life of the tournament were won by Ghana by a combined score of 8 - 0. 1961 - 67 Azikiwe Cup The figurative successor to the Jalco Cup, the Azikiwe Cup was named for Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe, who was Nigeria 's first postcolonial president. The tournament was initially contested under the same rotating, single match, format as the Jalco Cup, but was later switched to an aggregate home and away setup with each team hosting one match a piece. Unlike the Jalco Cup, the teams did not share the cup in the event of a tie under the single leg format, but rather the cup returned to the nation that had held it. This only occurred in 1962 when Ghana secured a 0 - 0 result in Lagos and were able to retain the cup that they initially won in the competition in 1961. Ghana won or retained the cup in every year that it was contested, continuing a dominance in the rivalry stemming in the early 1960s broken only during a brief period in the mid-1970s and 1980s and lasting until early 2000s. Titles Ghana Competition Nigeria African Cup of Nations 8 Jalco Cup / Dr Kwame Nkrumah Gold Cup / Azikiwe Cup 8 West African Football Union Nations Cup 0 15 Aggregate 11 Matches between the two countries : tournaments and friendlies Totals Matches Ghana Total Wins Draws Nigeria Total Wins Goal Difference 56 25 19 12 91 : 57 Ghana Home Matches Wins Draws Losses Last Loss 23 16 6 15 Dec 02 Nigeria Home Matches Wins Draws Losses Last Loss 20 8 9 10 Feb 73 Neutral Venue Matches Won by Ghana Draws Won by Nigeria Latest Result 13 6 11 October 2011 0 - 0 Draw By match # Date Competition Venue Home team Score Away team 16 October 1950 Friendly Accra, Greater Accra Region Gold Coast * 1 -- 0 Nigeria 20 October 1951 Jalco Cup Lagos, Lagos State Nigeria 5 -- 0 Gold Coast * 11 October 1953 Jalco Cup Accra, Greater Accra Region Gold Coast * 1 -- 0 Nigeria 30 October 1954 Jalco Cup Lagos, Lagos State Nigeria 3 -- 0 Gold Coast * 5 28 May 1955 Friendly Accra, Greater Accra Region Gold Coast * 1 -- 0 Nigeria 6 30 October 1955 Jalco Cup Accra, Greater Accra Region Gold Coast * 7 -- 0 Nigeria 7 27 October 1956 Jalco Cup Lagos, Lagos State Nigeria 3 -- 0 Gold Coast * 8 27 October 1957 Jalco Cup Accra, Greater Accra Region Ghana 3 -- 3 Nigeria 9 25 October 1958 Jalco Cup Lagos, Lagos State Nigeria 3 -- 2 Ghana 10 21 November 1959 Jalco Cup Accra, Greater Accra Region Ghana 5 -- 2 Nigeria 11 27 August 1960 1962 FIFA World Cup qualification Accra, Greater Accra Region Ghana 4 -- 1 Nigeria 12 10 September 1960 1962 FIFA World Cup qualification Lagos, Lagos State Nigeria 2 -- 2 Ghana 13 9 October 1960 1960 Nkrumah Cup Final ( West African Soccer Federation championship ) Lagos, Lagos State Nigeria 0 -- 3 Ghana 14 29 October 1960 Independence Cup Lagos, Lagos State Nigeria 1 -- 1 Ghana 15 8 April 1961 1963 African Cup of Nations Qualifiers Lagos, Lagos State Nigeria 0 -- 0 Ghana 16 30 April 1961 1963 African Cup of Nations Qualifiers Accra, Greater Accra Region Ghana 2 -- 2 Nigeria 17 1 June 1961 WAC Accra, Greater Accra Region Ghana 3 -- 0 Nigeria 18 17 December 1961 1961 Azikiwe Cup Accra, Greater Accra Region Ghana 5 -- 1 Nigeria 19 3 January 1962 1963 African Cup of Nations Preliminary Addis Ababa, Ethiopia Nigeria 1 -- 1 Ghana 20 10 November 1962 1962 Azikiwe Cup Surulere, Lagos State Nigeria 0 -- 0 Ghana 21 24 February 1963 1961 - 63 Nkrumah Cup Semifinal Kumasi, Ashanti Region Ghana 5 -- 0 Nigeria 22 30 October 1965 1965 Azikiwe Cup Surulere, Lagos State Nigeria 0 -- 4 Ghana 23 7 November 1965 1965 Azikiwe Cup Accra, Greater Accra Region Ghana 3 -- 0 Nigeria 24 28 January 1967 1966 Azikiwe Cup Lagos, Lagos State Nigeria 2 -- 2 Ghana 25 12 February 1967 1966 Azikiwe Cup Accra, Greater Accra Region Ghana 2 -- 0 Nigeria 26 21 October 1967 1967 Azikiwe Cup Accra, Greater Accra Region Ghana 2 -- 1 Nigeria 27 23 December 1967 1967 Azikiwe Cup Lagos, Lagos State Nigeria 2 -- 2 Ghana 28 10 May 1969 1970 FIFA World Cup qualification Ibadan, Lagos State Nigeria 2 -- 1 Ghana 29 18 May 1969 1970 FIFA World Cup qualification Accra, Greater Accra Region Ghana 1 -- 1 Nigeria 30 8 January 1973 All African Games Group A Surulere, Lagos State Nigeria 4 -- 2 Ghana 31 10 February 1973 1974 FIFA World Cup qualification Surulere, Lagos State Nigeria 2 -- 3 Ghana 32 22 February 1973 1974 FIFA World Cup qualification Accra, Greater Accra Region Ghana 0 -- 0 Nigeria 33 31 August 1975 Friendly Accra, Greater Accra Region Ghana 3 -- 0 Nigeria 34 8 March 1978 1963 African Cup of Nations Accra, Greater Accra Region Ghana 1 -- 1 Nigeria 35 21 July 1978 All African Games Group B Algiers, Algeria Nigeria 0 -- 0 Ghana 36 1 May 1983 Friendly Accra, Greater Accra Region Ghana 1 -- 0 Nigeria 37 5 March 1984 1984 African Cup of Nations Bouaké, Ivory Coast Ghana 1 -- 2 Nigeria 38 27 July 1986 CEDEAO Cup Monrovia, Liberia Ghana 2 -- 0 Nigeria 39 6 February 1987 ZONE 3 Semi-final Monrovia, Liberia Ghana 3 -- 1 Nigeria 40 2 September 1990 1990 African Cup of Nations Kumasi, Ashanti Region Ghana 1 -- 0 Nigeria 41 13 April 1991 1992 African Cup of Nations Qualifiers Surulere, Lagos State Nigeria 0 -- 0 Ghana 42 2 November 1991 CEDEAO Cup 3rd place match Abidjan, Ivory Coast Ghana 1 -- 0 Nigeria 43 23 January 1992 1992 African Cup of Nations Dakar, Senegal Ghana 2 -- 1 Nigeria 44 9 March 1994 Friendly Lagos, Lagos State Nigeria 0 -- 0 Ghana 45 28 August 1999 Friendly Lagos, Lagos State Nigeria 0 -- 0 Ghana 46 10 March 2001 2002 FIFA World Cup qualification Accra, Greater Accra Region Ghana 0 -- 0 Nigeria 47 28 July 2001 2002 FIFA World Cup qualification Port Harcourt, Lagos State Nigeria 3 -- 0 Ghana 48 3 February 2002 Friendly Stade du 26 Mars, Bamako Mali Nigeria 1 -- 0 Ghana 49 15 December 2002 Friendly Accra, Greater Accra Region Ghana 0 -- 1 Nigeria 50 23 February 2003 Friendly Warri, Lagos State Nigeria 0 -- 0 Ghana 51 30 May 2003 LG Cup Semi-final Abuja National Stadium, Abuja Nigeria 3 -- 1 Ghana 52 23 January 2006 2006 Africa Cup of Nations Port Said, Egypt Nigeria 1 -- 0 Ghana 53 6 February 2007 Friendly Griffin Park, London England Ghana 4 -- 1 Nigeria 54 3 February 2008 2008 Africa Cup of Nations Ohene Djan Stadium, Accra Ghana 2 -- 1 Nigeria 55 28 January 2010 2010 Africa Cup of Nations Luanda Angola Ghana 1 -- 0 Nigeria 56 11 October 2011 Friendly Vicarage Road England Ghana 0 -- 0 Nigeria * Ghana was organized under the Gold Coast Football Federation from this time until its independence Table lists only senior team competitions. Olympics, underage competition and African Nations Championship matches are excluded Matches which go which are won after extra time with penalty kicks are listed as draws, per official FIFA designation. See also List of association football rivalries References Jump up ^ `` Ghanaians vs Nigerians : Sibling Rivalry ''. 11 January 2014. Retrieved 2016 - 11 - 11. Jump up ^ `` Biggest Rivalry In Africa : Ghana vs. Nigeria ''. 2 February 2008. Retrieved 2016 - 11 - 11. Jump up ^ `` Nigeria vs Ghana : Head to Head ''. 29 January 2014. Retrieved 2016 - 11 - 11. Jump up ^ `` Nigeria, Ghana and the genesis of a rivalry ''. 22 November 2012. Retrieved 2016 - 11 - 11. Jump up ^ `` History favours Ghana ''. 25 July 2001. Retrieved 2016 - 11 - 11. External links Details at 11v11.com History of Jalco Cup 1951 - 1959 - RSSF.com History of Dr. Kwame Nkrumah Cup 1959 - 1967 - RSSF.com History of Azikiwe Cup 1961 - 1967 - RSSF.com Football in Ghana Ghana Football Association National teams Men 's Women 's Women 's U-17 Women 's U-20 Men 's Olympic ( U-23 ) Men 's U-20 Men 's U-17 League system Men Ghana Premier League Ghana Football Leagues Division 1 League Division 2 League Division 3 League GAFCOA Women Ghana Women 's Football League Domestic cups Men Ghanaian FA Cup Ghana Super Cup Awards Ghana Player of the year List of clubs Men 's clubs Women 's clubs Venues Champions Men 's players Women 's players Expatriate players Managers Records Football in Nigeria Nigeria Football Federation Men National team Olympic ( U-23 ) U-20 U-17 Beach soccer Women National team U-20 U-17 League system Men Premier League National League Nigeria Nationwide League 1, 2 Women Women 's Championship Domestic cups Men Federation Cup Super Cup Super 4 Women Women Federation Cup Awards Footballer of the Year Top scorers Lists All - time Table Champions Men 's clubs Women 's clubs International footballers Foreign players Venues Men 's clubs Women 's clubs Men 's players Women 's players Expatriate players Managers Referees Venues Seasons Records Nigeria national football team General Nigeria Football Federation History Managers Venues Godswill Akpabio International Stadium Abuja National Stadium Lagos National Stadium Ahmadu Bello Stadium Statistics All - Time Record World Cup record Individual Records All - time goalscorers Players Players ( by caps ) Other players Nigerian foreign players Born outside Nigeria World Cup Finals 1994 1998 2002 2014 2018 CAN Finals 1963 1976 1978 1980 1982 1984 1994 2000 2002 2006 2008 2013 Other Cup 's tournaments African Nations Championship Noted rivalries Ghana Games 's tournaments Olympic Games All - Africa Games Other NFF teams Men Under - 23 Under - 20 Under - 17 Beach Soccer Women National football teams head to head AFC Men Australia Bangladesh Bhutan China Hong Kong India Indonesia Iran Iraq Japan Jordan Kyrgyzstan Lebanon Malaysia Maldives Mongolia Myanmar Nepal Northern Mariana Islands Pakistan Palestine Philippines Qatar Singapore South Korea Sri Lanka Syria Tajikistan Thailand Timor - Leste Turkmenistan United Arab Emirates Uzbekistan Vietnam Yemen Women Australia China CAF Men Algeria Botswana Central African Republic Chad Comoros Egypt Lesotho Malawi Mali Niger Nigeria São Tomé and Príncipe South Africa Uganda Women Egypt CONCACAF Men Anguilla Antigua and Barbuda Aruba Bahamas Belize Bonaire Canada Cayman Islands Costa Rica Curaçao Dominican Republic El Salvador French Guiana Honduras Mexico Montserrat Nicaragua Sint Maarten Suriname Trinidad and Tobago Turks and Caicos Islands United States Women United States CONMEBOL Men Argentina Bolivia Brazil Chile Colombia Paraguay Uruguay Venezuela Women Brazil OFC Men American Samoa New Zealand Samoa Women American Samoa UEFA Men Albania Andorra Armenia Azerbaijan Belarus Belgium Bosnia and Herzegovina Bulgaria Croatia Cyprus Denmark England Estonia Faroe Islands Finland France Georgia Germany Gibraltar Greece Hungary Iceland Ireland Italy Kazakhstan Kosovo Latvia Lithuania Macedonia Malta Moldova Montenegro Netherlands Norway Poland Portugal Romania San Marino Scotland Serbia Slovakia Slovenia Spain Sweden Turkey Ukraine Wales Women Kosovo Sweden Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Ghana -- Nigeria_football_rivalry&oldid = 833983911 '' Categories : International association football rivalries Ghana national football team Nigeria national football team Ghana -- Nigeria relations Hidden categories : Pages using deprecated image syntax Talk Contents About Wikipedia Add links This page was last edited on 3 April 2018, at 09 : 46 ( UTC ). Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution - ShareAlike License ; additional terms may apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia ® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization. About Wikipedia

Question: who is better at football ghana or nigeria
Answer: Ghana