A stalemate at the Baba Yara Stadium sees the two African giants go into the second leg on level terms.
Nigeria and Ghana drew 0-0 in the first leg of their World Cup qualifying tie on Friday. A tense battle saw the Black Stars failing to make the most of home advantage while Nigeria hesitated to go all-in offensively.
African giants settle for a goalless draw!
Ghana started the game by dominating the possession early on while trying to create chances down both flanks. However, they soon realized their opponents were more than willing to sit back and wait for the counter-attacks.
The Black Stars remained too cautious to make any serious chances throughout the first half. They registered four shots but could not build enough pressure on Nigeria’s backline to open the scoring.
After the interval, the guests started to look more dangerous as they pushed for an early breakthrough. They refused to remain in the attacking mode for too long but still managed to make a few decent chances.
Moses Simon came the closest five minutes before the hour-mark. However, Joe Wollacott prevented him from converting the one-on-one with a brilliant save.
The Super Eagles reinforced their attacks in the final ten minutes and even managed to get a penalty. The referee pointed to the penalty spot after a handball from Baba Mohamed inside Ghana’s box. However, upon reviewing by VAR, the referee overturned his initial decision.
Despite continuing their sparse attacks in the final ten minutes, both sides settled for a draw ahead of the massive second leg.
What to expect in the second leg?
The two sides will meet again for the second leg at the Abuja National Stadium on Wednesday.
Nigeria will have a clear advantage as they play on home soil. However, Ghana will most likely display a more fearless performance if their opponents push carelessly for the first blood.
Let’s see if the Super Eagles can be more clinical with their attacks in the second leg.
Player Ratings
Ghana: Wollacot (7), Odoi (8), Mensah (6), Amartey (6), Djiku (6), Baba (7), Partey (7), Kudus (6), Afena-Gyan (5), Ayew (7), Fatawu (6).
Bench: Kyereh (6), Bukari (6), Wriedt (-).
Nigeria: Uzoho (8), Aina (7), Balogun (7), Troost-Ekong (7), Sanusi (6), Innocent (6), Aribo (5), Chukwueze (6), Iheanacho (6), Simon (5), Osimhen (6).
Bench: Bassey (5), Onyeka (6), Etebo (7), Dennis (6), Lookman (5).
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