The Super Eagles of Nigeria secured a hard-fought 2-1 victory over arch-rivals Ghana in the Unity Cup 2025 semifinal.

It was a fight to finish at the Gtech Community Stadium in Brentford, London, with both teams dominating either half.

Nigeria showed class in the first 45 minutes as they outclassed the Black Stars, scoring two goals before half-time.

Scottish Premiership’s top scorer this season, Cyriel Dessers, proved his worth after stepping up in the absence of Victor Osimhen and Ademola Lookman.

Dessers opened the scoring in the 14th minute when he found the back of the net inside the area courtesy of a sensational assist from Sodiq Ismail of Remo Stars.

Ismail found space on the right before crossing a delicious ball into the danger area for the Rangers striker, who controlled well with his chest before he tucked past Ibrahim Danlad in goal.

Five minutes later, it was 2-0 to the Super Eagles this time off an own goal by Razak Simpson, who headed into his own net.

A free kick from the right side of the box is lifted into the box, the defender rose high to clear it, but headed it towards his own goal to score an own goal for Nigeria.

It was a different ball game in the second half, which was largely dominated by Ghana, Vavel reports.

The Black Stars came close in the 59th minute when Baah stepped into the box, cut to the left and finished with a cross shot with his left foot. Goalkeeper Nwabali made a good save to deny the opponents.

Brandon Thomas-Asante eventually reduced the deficit in the 70th minute after he received a low cross from the left side of the box, finished with his left foot and put the ball past goalkeeper Nwabali.

The Black Stars should have restored parity in the 87th minute after Andre Ayew played the pivot inside the box and passed to Abu Francis in depth, number 27 fired low, but goalkeeper Nwabali made a good save. It ended Nigeria 2-1 Ghana.

The Super Eagles now advance to the Unity Cup final, set to face Jamaica on Saturday. The Raggae Boyz defeated their counterparts from the Trinidad and Tobago in the other semi-final fixture, Yahoo reports.

Legit.ng earlier reported that Super Eagles coach Eric Chelle earlier explained why Victor Osimhen and Ademola Lookman were not named in the squad for the Unity Cup.

The tactician disclosed that he is widening his consideration for players to select the best out of the numerous available in Nigeria. He said:

“We have a lot of players in Nigeria, so we need to give chances to them so they can show us their quality, so it's difficult for me to talk or think about anything else."

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Source: Legit.ng