By Francis Ajuonuma
Ex-international, Henry Nwosu, yesterday took a swipe at the Super Eagles following their elimination from the Qatar 2022 FIFA World Cup by the Black Stars of Ghana at the MKO Abiola stadium, Abuja.
The Super Eagles forced the Black Stars to a 1-1 draw in a lackluster performance in Abuja but crashed out on away goal advantage, having held the Ghanaians to a scoreless draw in the first leg at the Baba Yara Stadium, Kumasi five days ago.
Nwosu, while reacting to the Super Eagles’ ouster from the 2022 World Cup, said they could not gel because of lack of coordination and under-strength attack.
“I didn’t see most parts of the game. I saw the second half and from what i saw in the second half I noticed that the super eagles were not coordinated most especially from the left-hand side. And our attack too was lacking the right beat because we left only one boy up there (Osimhen), until they brought on these two other guys ( Odion Ighalo and Umar Sadiq but it was too late.
“Honestly, I’m not happy that the Super Eagles lost but I think it was a good lesson for us. We have to learn from this and move forward,” he said.
The Super Eagles started the game on top, bossing the possession and pushing the Ghanaians back.
Black Stars coach Otto Addo opted for a relatively conservative approach, looking to hit Nigeria on the counter. Despite the early spell of possession, the intent was still evident, as they had a few runs of their own.
However, the Ghanaians broke the deadlock in the 10th minute, capitalising on a mistake from the Super Eagles allowedThomas Partey to receive a pass from Gideon Mensah and fired home from outside the box to beat Francis Uzoho, who was in limbo as the ball went under him.
After they went behind, Nigeria upped the ante and began to look more threatening on the attack.
The pressure finally paid off in the 21st minute, as referee Selmi awarded the Super Eagles a penalty after a VAR review revealed that Ademola Lookman was fouled in the box.
Captain Troost-Ekong was on hand to strike from the spot to restore parity.
It looked like Nigeria had completed a comeback after Osimhen put the ball in the net after a brilliant run in the 26th minute. Unfortunately, VAR ruled it out for offside.
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Nigeria kept pushing for goals, but the pressure failed to yield substantial results.
The second half ended scoreless as the Black Stars booked their fourth world Cup ticket at the expense of a very poor Super Eagles side.
The Super Eagles kept up the pressure in the second half. Still, even the introduction of Odion Ighalo, Ahmed Musa, and Moses Simon did not change anything.
A few half chances fell to the Super Eagles, but the Ghanaians held their own to see out the 1-1 result.
The victory for Ghana ensures that they would make their fourth World Cup appearance, while Nigeria would have to wait till 2026 before they make their seventh World Cup appearance.
