A high-ranking government official has warned that Nigeria intend to "beat the s***" out of Ghana as the two bitter rivals face off with a coveted spot at the World Cup on the line.
Qualifying for the Qatar tournament is nearing its climax with the final fixtures for nations in the Confederation of African Football (CAF) taking place over the next week. Liverpool colleagues Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane are among the Premier League stars involved as Egypt and Senegal meet over two legs on Friday and Tuesday.
The other final-round matches include Cameroon versus Algeria, Democratic Republic of the Congo versus Morocco and Mali versus Tunisia, but the tie with the most bad blood concerns Nigeria and Ghana. The West African countries are two of the most successful in the continent's history having shared seven Africa Cup of Nations titles between them (Ghana four, Nigeria three).
