The President of Nigeria, Muhammadu Buhari was among disappointed Nigerians who watched helplessly as the Super Eagles failed to qualify for the 2022 FIFA World Cup after they were forced to a 1-1 draw by the Black Stars of Ghana in the final leg of the World Cup playoff decided yesterday at the MKO Abiola national stadium in Abuja.
The first leg of the third round qualifiers last Friday in Kumasi had ended in a barren draw so the score draw in Abuja favoured the Black Stars who qualified for Qatar 2022 on away goal rule at the expense of the Super Eagles.
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The Black Stars silenced the over 60,000 Nigerian fans at the MKO Abiola when Arsenal midfielder Thomas Partey’s long range effort in the 10th minute surprisingly went past Francis Uzoho’s into the net for the first goal of the fixture.
Stunned by the goal, the Super Eagles mounted sustained pressure on the Black Stars but their passes in the final third continued to let them down.
With defeat staring them in the face, the three-time African champions camped in the half of their opponents and during one of their forays, new boy Ademola Lookman was tripped in the box and the resultant penalty awarded after VAR review was calmly converted in the 22nd minute by William Troost-Ekong for the much needed equaliser.
A few minutes later, Osimhen thought he had scored the second goal but the center referee cut the joy of Nigerians short after consulting the VAR to rule out the goal for offside.
At the restart of the second half, the Super Eagles continued their search for the crucial second goal but the Black Stars adopted delay tactics to frustrate them.
With time fast running out, Coach Eguavoen later introduced captain Ahmed Musa and Odion Ighalo but the duo could not save the Super Eagles from another World Cup mishap.
Meanwhile, as soon as the match ended, angry fans who were mobilised within the FCT and neighbouring states went berserk as they invaded the pitch to vent their anger on the players.
They pelted the Super Eagles players with water bottles and as they began to vandalise installation in the stadium, security personnel in turn fired tear gas to disperse them.
Despite the intervention, the fans succeeded in tearing down some of the pitch panels and advert banners around the field.
