African football giants Nigeria and Ghana will resume their rivalry when they meet for the second leg of their CAF Third Round playoff tie at the Moshood Abiola National Stadium in Abuja on Tuesday.
Kick-off is at 17h00 GMT.
The Super Eagles are condemned to beat the Black Stars as both sides played to a goalless draw in the first leg played at the Baba Yara Sports Stadium in Kumasi on Friday night.
Ghana were resolute in defence and limited their opponents to just a handful of chances for their enthusiastic fans to later celebrate a confidence-boosting draw.
Nigeria midfield again lacked creativity and so forcing the strikers like Kelechi Iheanacho and Victor Osimhen to fall back deep to be part of the game.
The Super Eagles coach Augustine Eguavoen admitted his team should have won the tough match from two open chances that they failed to utilize.
“Ghana team is not a team you can brush aside with one arm because they are a very good team. I have followed Ghana nearly all my entire career. The performance they put on [Friday] was expected, [but] I would like to congratulate my boys, they were able to soak up the pressure and took control of the game in the second half,” said the former Nigeria international.
“Again you know Ghana yes they were on top of their game, but they didn’t have any clear cut chances. But we had two clear cut chances. We should have won, but a draw, I think we are okay.”
The Super Eagles now return to home soil where they have struggled to get going, claiming just two wins from their last nine games since 2019, while losing three and claiming four draws in that time.
Both teams are in a tight situation as Ghana needs a win or a scoring draw to secure qualification to the World Cup finals in Qatar, while Nigeria must win to advance.
The Black Stars coach Otto Addo said they will step up their game to guarantee their passage to their fourth appearance in the global football showcase.
“The result doesn’t change anything. When we go there we want to win,” said former Ghana international Addo. “Even though our Africa Cup of Nations was not good this year, you saw we matched Nigeria in the first leg.
“So, I don’t see them as favourites, the pressure will be on them at home and away goals can hurt a lot.”
Nigeria and Ghana have met in 57 matches across all competitions dating back as far as 1950. The Black Stars have 25 wins compared to 12 for the Super Eagles, while 20 games have been drawn.
The Super Eagles of Nigeria have a record of eight wins, nine draws and three defeats from 20 home matches against Ghana.
