Today, Tuesday is the grand finale of the Qatar 2022 World Cup qualifiers and Nigerians will be hoping that the Super Eagles do all in their capacity to pick up the ticket for the tournament.
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It should be noted that the Black Stars are guaranteed a World Cup ticket with any form of victory or a scoring draw against the Super Eagles tonight, so it looks more like a herculean task for the Nigerian team to go through.
Given their last performance in Kumasi, Ghana, last Friday, when the Super Eagles were forced to play out a 0-0 draw, it was almost a similar scenario as we had in 2001. Recall that in a bid to qualify for Korea/Japan 2002, the same barren draw had been played out in Accra, after which Nigeria later beat Ghana 3-0 at the Liberation Stadium in Port Harcourt to qualify for the World Cup then.
However, the past glory can not take us to the Qatar World Cup this time around. There is only one thing that will, and that is a well-committed team.
In their crunchy encounter on Tuesday, the Super Eagles must not underrate the Black Stars of Ghana despite playing out 0-0 with them in an away match.
One thing that is observed during the first leg of the playoffs is that Ghana did play more of a teamwork. Nigeria has more individual talents but I must warn that if that is what they capitalize on at the return leg, they will be punished by a more energetic Ghana team.
The Super Eagles players need to be committed, bold and team up well in the field of play, while still applying their skilful movement to help break the defence of Ghana. The Super Eagles players should have it at the back of their mind that the match is between eleven players from both sides. 99% effort will be expected from them while only 1% should be expected from the coach.
Another important thing to add, our boys must not waste chances like they did in Ghana last week. Moses Simon’s dribbling skill is of great benefit to the team, however, failing to connect well with teammates renders all good efforts futile.
To coach Augustine Eguavoen, I expect him to be more sound, technically for this crucial encounter which comes up later in the evening.
Kudos to the Sports Minister and all stakeholders who had already contributed to help this game be a success for the Nigeria team, nevertheless, I have one more thing to add. Let the Sports Minister do all in his capacity to ensure fans get behind the Super Eagles with their support and let their presence be felt from their noise.
With this, I see the Super Eagles emerging victorious.
My prediction: I see a very tough game but Nigeria wins, so I predict Ghana 1 – 0 Nigeria.
