World Football Governing body, FIFA, has revised the dates for next month’s 2022 World Cup play-off matches between Ghana and Nigeria.
The fixture which was originally scheduled for Thursday, March 24 and Sunday, March 27, has been moved to Friday, March 25 and Tuesday, March 29, 2022, according to a statement released by the Ghana Football Association (GFA).
The first leg will take place at the Cape Coast Sports Stadium whereas the second leg takes place at the Moshood Abiola National Stadium in Abuja, Nigeria. The winner of the tie will represent the continent as one of the five African countries at the World football showpiece which is scheduled to take place from November 21 to December 18, 2022 in Qatar.
According to the statement, the first leg encounter in Ghana at the Cape Coast sports stadium will kick off at exactly 19:30GMT whilst the second leg in Nigeria will kick-off at 17:00GMT.
Even though the draw for the play-off matches on the African continent saw some mouth-watering pairings such as Cameroon vs Algeria, Senegal vs Egypt, and Mali vs Tunisia, that of Ghana vs Nigeria continues to make the waves. This is because of the rivalry between these two West African giants as each of them will love to win, not just to play at the world cup but for the bragging right.
A battle for the bragging right
Whilst the Super Eagles seem favorites on paper, most Nigerians believe their opponents from Ghana should not be underrated on any day because matches between these two nations often produce unusual results.
Earlier, Africa’s richest man, Aliko Dangote charged his compatriots to do whatever it takes to qualify for the tournament in Qatar. Several former players from Nigeria have since issued statements encouraging the Super Eagles to beat Ghana to it.
For Ghana, most people seem not bothered as they believe the team isn’t good enough to play in Qatar next year, especially due to the recent catastrophic performance of the Black Stars in the 2021 AFCON in Cameroon.
However, Ghana Vice-President, Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, has backed the senior national team to beat Nigeria in the playoff games of the 2022 World Cup despite the disappointing campaign in the just ended 2021 Africa Cup of Nations.
The Black Stars who were hoping to end the country’s 40 years’ trophy drought were knocked out at the AFCON in the group stages and exited the tournament with just a point, the worst performance since 2006. Coincidentally, that was the last time the Super Eagles beat the Black Stars in a competitive game, a 1-0 loss.
“I’m always proud of the Black Stars for going out and representing Ghana, regardless of the result, especially during the pandemic which has been a difficult time for all”, Dr. Bawumia told PAV Magazine.
“It was of course a disappointing AFCON tournament for us, and I know that we are capable of achieving much more. Now, it will be important to work together as a team especially as our focus turns to the vital World Cup qualifiers in the coming months. I will always be cheering them on!”
Dr. Bawumia
Ghana is chasing a record 4th FIFA World Cup appearance while Nigeria seeks for its 7th appearance in the competition. However, Ghana is among the only 3 African countries to have ever reached the quarter-final stage of the World Cup and this was in 2006. The other two countries are Cameroon and Senegal in 1990 and 2002 respectively.
Full Details of the tie are as follows:
Match: FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 play offs – Ghana vs. Nigeria (First Leg)
Date: Friday, March 25, 2022
Venue: Cape Coast stadium
Kick-off: 19:30GMT
Match; FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 play offs – Nigeria vs. Ghana (Second Leg)
Date; Tuesday, March 29, 2022
Venue: Moshood Abiola National Stadium in Abuja
Kick-off: 17:00GMT
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