The stage is set for a replay of the Ghana-Nigeria soccer rivalry that dates back to 1951, when the Black Stars clash with the Super Eagles at the Ohene Djan stadium in Accra, Ghana, Sunday, at the 26th Africa Cup of Nations.
The match is one of the two scheduled for the day, with the other pitching Cote d'Ivoire against Guinea in Sekondi.
Going into the Ghana-Nigeria tie, the Black stars have a historical edge, having won 21 of the 54 confrontations against Nigeria, compared to 15 victories by the Nigerians.
The Black Stars are also going into the match with confidence, having won all their three matches so far in the competition, unlike the Super Eagles who barely escaped elimination in the first round, where they scored just two goals in 270 minutes of play.
On top of that, the hosts - who will be cheered on by most of the 45,000 fans expected to throng the stadium Sunday- walloped the Nigerians 4-1 in a friendly in London last year.
But Nigeria has dominated the encounters against Ghana in recent times, with the Black Stars losing to the Eagles on their way to early elimination from the 2002 (quarter-final) and 2006 (first round) tournaments.
Undaunted by the statistics, Nigerians are rooting for their team to win the match that has been dubbed by football analysts as 'the final before the final'.
Nigerian newspapers Sunday reflected the nation's mood.
''Fly, Eagles fly'' was the headline in the Sun newspaper, ''Super Eagles in mother of all battles'' (Nation); ''Eagles, Stars in titanic battle (Punch) and ''Nigeria, Ghana rekindle 56-year rivalry (Guardian) were some of the newspaper headlines Sunday.
Irrespective of the outcome of Sunday's match, one thing is sure: The Ghana-Nigeria epic rivalry will outlive the match.