An early goal from Thomas Partey was enough to secure Ghana’s place at the 2022 Qatar World Cup as they beat Nigeria on away goals after a 1-1 draw in the second leg of their qualifying play-off.
William Troost-Ekong’s penalty was not enough to stop the Black Stars from recording a famous result on enemy territory.
The game started scrappily, with Nigeria in slight ascendancy. And when, on 10 minutes, Partey took aim from just outside the box, no one familiar with his oeuvre will have expected him to score. But Francis Uzoho was only able to spill the Ghanaian’s effort and into the net it went, 0-1 Ghana were ahead.
Nigeria responded well, and on 22 minutes, Ademola Lookman maneuvered his way into the box passing Daniel Amartey with ease, Denis Odoi bumped him over; and a penalty was awarded.
The Super Eagle’s captain Troost-Ekong stepped up and punched home the penalty. Game on.
Ghana however made three changes at half-time and also changed from 4-3-3 to 3-5-2. This gave them greater midfield control, and they were able to protect their defence and move the ball forward with something approximating to aggression.
As such, Nigeria could neither harness momentum nor sustain attacks.
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Super Eagles’s striker Victor Osimhen, the best player on the pitch in the first 45 minutes was left frustrated.
He thought he had given Nigeria the lead after putting the ball in the net late in the first half but the Napoli man’s strike was chalked off after a VAR check found him offside.
The 60,000 capacity Moshood Abiola Stadium had been packed full of supporters who came to cheer the Super Eagles to victory, but left disappointed after the final whistle.
The result for Nigeria means the Super Eagles have now failed to progress to the 2022 FIFA World Cup after a disappointing Africa Cup of Nations.