NFF has announced the date and venue for the second leg of the World Cup qualifier against Ghana, ditching Lagos for Abuja
By Kehinde Okeowo
The Nigeria Football Federation. (NFF) has affirmed that Teslim Balogun stadium in Lagos, which used to host the Super Eagles will not be the venue for the return leg of the 2022 World Cup play-off match against Ghana.
The Super Eagles must emerge as winners over the two legs if they want to be part of the contingents going to the 2022 World Cup billed to hold in Qatar.
According to the country’s football ruling body, NFF, the reverse fixture of the cracker against the Black Stars will be held on March 27 at the MKO Abiola Stadium, Abuja.
This means the Teslim Balogun Stadium in Lagos which used to host the Super Eagles will not be used for the qualifier.
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However, the Ghana Football Association, whose attempt to move the venue for the first leg of the encounter was rejected by CAF is yet to confirm if the match billed for the Cape Coast Stadium will be on March 23rd or March 24th, 2022.
Nigeria who were ousted by Tunisia in the Round of 16 of the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) in Cameroon – will be aiming to qualify for the global football showpiece for the seventh time.
They last appeared in the global soccer fiesta in Russia in 2018, where they failed to negotiate their way past the first stage in a group that had Argentina, Iceland, and Croatia.
The Eagles earned the runoff ticket to play against Ghana last year, after topping a group that boasted Cape Verde, Liberia, and the Central African Republic.
Ghana, on the other hand, will be gunning for the fourth World Cup appearance, the Black Stars, qualified ahead of South Africa in a group that also had Zimbabwe and Ethiopia.
In the 2002 edition, Ghana and Nigeria were pooled in Group B with Liberia, Sudan, and Sierra Leone, the Eagles progressed after a 0-0 draw in Accra and a 3-0 win in the reverse fixture in Port Harcourt.
The two counties will be aiming to appease their fans for their poor outing at the 2021 AFCON in Cameroon, by earning a place in the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.