The Super Eagles of Nigeria will today in Ghana open their MTN African Cup of Nations campaign against the West African rival, Elephants of Cote D'Ivoire, in Sekondi, Ghana.
The contest is a direct clash between two of the favourites to win the biennial championship.
This will be the fifth clash between the two West African countries in the competition, with Nigeria winning two of the encounters.
One of those victories was the 1994 semi-final tie in Tunisia which the team battled to a thrilling 2-2 draw before the stalemate was settled on a penalty shoot-out and Nigeria went on to clinch their second Africa cup of nation title.
However, two years ago when the two renewed their rivalries in Egypt, the Ivorians won 1-0, courtesy of a Didier Drogba of Chelsea controversial goal to reach the final.
That set the tone for the grudge match today.
Nigeria is one of the premier African football nations and is ranked best in the continent by the world football governing body, FIFA.
Today marks the nation's 15th appearance in the tournament which it had won on two occasions: 1980 and 1994, and finished among the top three in the last four editions.
With eyes on the first ever World Cup in Africa in 2010, the Super Eagles German handler, Berti Vogts, according to analysts, has instilled European discipline and organisation into the team, particularly in the defence since he took charge in March 2006.
The Joseph Yobo-led defence alongside Danny Shittu, Rabiu Afolabi, Onyekachi Apam and Taye Taiwo now allows very little to go past them.
More than ever before, Nigeria, according to football analysts, are well prepared ahead of the tournament.
The Nigeria Football Association (NFA) has endured all criticisms over the choice of Malaga, Spain as training camp ahead of the tournament with a section of the local media insisting that the weather in Spain was too cold and so far from being a suitable place to prepare the team for a play under hot conditions in Ghana.
But some analysts said it has been the best preparation by the team for a major competition as they trained together for at least 10 days and tested their readiness with 2-0 defeat over fellow finalists, Sudan, before leaving for Ghana.
The issue of money, which has often been a flash-point between the players and the NFA, officials said, has been settled well ahead of the tournament, leading to players knowing what they would earn per match as a winning bonus.
The Ivorian team received a major boost with the return of their inspirational skipper, Didier Drogba, after knee surgery in December and Chelsea of England has deadly striker, announced his comeback with a goal against Kuwait in a warm-up game prior to the tournament.
And Super Eagles, defence led by Everton defence marshal, Joseph Yobo, will need extra work to block the reigning African player of the year.
However, in spite of Drogba's huge influence on his team, the Elephants are not a one-man band.
Arsenal centre half, Kolo Toure is a tower of strength and efficiency in the defence, Didier Zakira and Barcelona age, Yaya Toure, pull the strings in midfield while the tricky Aruna Kone and Solomon Kalou will compliment the physical presence of Drogba upfront.
A cross-section of fans in a chat with our correspondents yesterday across the country described the crop of players selected by coach Berti Vogt as the "fittest Nigerian players currently in the football world."Some of them, however, expressed serious concern over the non-inclusion of Yusuf Ayila and Chidi Odiah, saying that the duo would have increased the depth and quality of the team.
The fans argued that had such inputs been available to the Super Eagles before now, they would have won at least one of the three previous editions of the championship.
"Since the exit of Clement Westerhof and Bonfere Joe. we will now get in Berti Vogt what were missing in Shuaibu Amado, Christian Chukwu and Augustine Eguavoen," Wole Olafinlade one of the fans, told LEADERSHIP.
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