At Cape Coast Sports Stadium, the Ghanaian Black Galaxies defeated the Super Eagles B squad 2-0.
The Super Eagles, who are based at home, will face a difficult task in the second leg on Saturday in Abuja thanks to two goals from the Ghanaians in the second half.
Afrieye Barneh converted from the penalty spot in the 50th minute, and Seidu Suraj added a second in the 87th minute to put Ghana ahead of the Super Eagles despite the game being cagey in the first half.
The Super Eagles fought valiantly to get even after going a goal behind as the game wore on, to no avail, and were then open to a sucker punch as Suraj unleashed a shot from close range that Adewale could only punch into his own net with four minutes left.
Ghana are looking at making a return to the CHAN after missing out on the last three editions while Nigeria will head into the second leg thinking of how they could overturn this defeat to make a return to the competition after missing out on the last edition in Cameroon.