Ghana and Nigeria’s World Cup hopes remain in jeopardy after a tense first leg of their playoff tie ended goalless.
There were few clear-cut chances in Kumasi over the 90 minutes, with Moses Simon having the best chance, which he missed in the second half.
The Super Eagles thought they had a penalty in the final stages, but it was overturned after a VAR review, so it’s all to play for in the second leg in Nigeria on Tuesday night, when a place in Qatar at the end of the year will be decided.
Ghana started the match the better of the two, roared on by a raucous home crowd, but their first real chance of the match didn’t come until 30 minutes in. Abdul Fatawu unleashed a powerful strike from the edge of the box, which Francis Uzoho deflected.
Nigeria grew into the game and had a strong spell just before the halftime break. Kelechi Iheanacho came dangerously close to getting on the end of a cross at the back post before Victor Osimhen sent a tame volley at goal that was easily saved.
Just after the break, the Super Eagles had a huge chance to take the lead when Moses Simon found himself clean through on goal. His ten-yard shot, however, was saved by Jojo Wollacott, who kept the Super Eagles out.
Ghana posed a threat, and Jordan Ayew’s decent shot was saved with 20 minutes remaining. Felix Afena-Gyan should have sorted his feet out for a tap-in at the back post from the resulting corner, but he couldn’t react in time.
Ademola Lookman made his Nigeria debut after being called up for the first time since making the switch to represent the Super Eagles. With just over ten minutes remaining, his new team thought they had a penalty after Baba Mohammed was penalized for a handball in the box.
However, a VAR review determined that the Ghanaian had been fouled before he handled, and the referee returned from consulting the monitor to overturn his original decision.
There was no more drama in the final minutes as the game ended goalless, which was probably a fair result, and sets up a second-leg showdown for a spot in the 2022 World Cup.
