Nigeria and Ghana will have it all to play for when they square off in their Fifa World Cup return leg qualifier at the Abuja National Stadium on Tuesday evening.
The Super Eagles and the Black Stars were forced to share the spoils in the first leg following a goalless draw at the Baba Yara Sports Stadium on Friday after VAR overruled a penalty decision after midfielder Iddrisu Baba was fouled before he handled.
Ghana came closest to breaking the deadlock with Nigerian goalkeeper Francis Uzoho pulling off a superb save to deny Fatahu Ishaku in the first half but the game ended in a draw in Kinshasa.
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Nigeria coach Augustine Eguavoen says: “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.
“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.”
Ghana coach Otto Addo adds: “First of all, we did well even though we made some mistakes but we started well, there was just a little bit of fatigue and it made Nigeria come into the game more […] We watch a lot of matches, me and my squad… and I think we know what each of them is capable of.
“I think the guys did well but under these circumstances, I can say they followed the plan and even though we made some mistakes, they stuck to the plan. We had good positions and good runs.
“We had good positions, good runs. We created some chances and controlled the game in the first 30 minutes and there were some breaks and some fatigue. We couldn’t press like we would have wanted to, but in all, it was a deserved draw.
“The Nigerians saw that we can play as well. Even though the Afcon wasn’t good I think we matched them up. They have high-quality players but in all it was equal. The pressure will be on them at home and no away goals can hurt a lot.”
Ghana remains dominant over Nigeria in head-to-head stats over the last six games as they have managed to claim three wins over the Super Eagles, while three games have ended in a draw following their most recent stalemate in Kinshasa.
Augustine Eguavoen and Otto Addo will be boosted by the fact they both teams have no reported injuries or suspensions heading into their crucial return leg fixture on Tuesday.
Despite having a quiet game in the first leg, Victor Osimhen will be hungry to let loose in the return game and help his side book one of the five spots available at the World Cup.
Felix Afena-Gyan will play a crucial role in helping his side break down the Super Eagles defence as they look to hit them on the counter-attack with his skillfulness and pace.