By Harry Awurumibe
All eyes are on Nigeria’s Super Eagles to beat their eternal rivals, Black Stars of Ghana in the crucial FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 African qualifier final round second leg match billed for Tuesday, March 29, 2022 at the Moshood Abiola National Stadium, Abuja.
Already, preparations for the big match which will kick off by 6 pm local time have reached fever pitch on the side of the Super Eagles, the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) and supervising Federal Ministry of Sports and Youth Development as each party is holding its side of the rope tight to ensure a hitch-free prosecution of the important match on Tuesday night.
While the Nigerian government through the Sports Ministry has ensured that the state-of-the-art Moshood Abiola National Stadium Abuja mainbowl pitch is in very good playing condition and has backed the football governing body with huge financial backing, the NFF is doing its utmost best to provide the needed logistics for the players and officials to only concentrate fully on the ways to win the match against the Black Stars to pick the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 ticket.
Also, Prompt News had earlier reported that match officials appointed for the crucial return leg tie in Abuja by FIFA and Confederation of Africa Football (CAF) have arrived the match venue.
They are Sadok Selmi (Tunisian; Referee); Khalil Hassani (Tunisia; Assistant Referee 1); Attia Amsaaed (Libyan; Assistant Referee 2) and Haythem Guirat (Tunisian; Fourth Official).
Others are Frenchmen Jérôme Brisard (VAR) and Willy Louis Delajod (Assistant VAR); Prince Kai Saquee (Sierra Leonean; Match Commissioner) and Kabelo Bosilong (South African; General Coordinator) as well as Senegalese Badara Diatta, former FIFA Referee who will serve as Referee Assessor.
A contingent of Republic of Ghana arrived the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport Abuja on Monday morning aboard a chartered flight from Kotoka International Airport, Accra.
The delegation includes 25 Black Stars players, coaching crew, Ghana Football Association (GFA) top officials and Ghana Sports minister.
With all the above arrangements in place, ‘the die is cast’ for an epic encounter between the two West African football heavyweights (Nigeria and Ghana) just as hundreds of thousands of football-starved fans in Nigeria want to be at the Moshood Abiola National Stadium Abuja to cheer their darling team to victory.
But, only 60,000 fans out of over 200 million Nigerians will be allowed into the stadium on Tuesday as approved by FIFA and CAF respectively.
The rest of millions of Nigerians at home and in diaspora will watch the match on television or listening to the radio.
However, all eyes are on the 25 Super Eagles players and officials in the The Wells Calton Hotels Abuja camp to give Nigerians the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 ticket on Tuesday in Abuja.
This is even as many Nigerians are not impressed with the Super Eagles performance in the 0-0 first leg draw at the Baba Yara Sports Stadium in Kumasi last Friday when Nigeria and Ghana clashed in the first leg tie.
Interestingly, the return leg game has afforded the Super Eagles technical crew led by Augustine Eguavoen and assisted by ex-International players, Emmanuel Amuneke; goalkeeper coach Aloysius Agu and Joseph Yobo, an opportunity to correct the lapses in the team to ensure the Super Eagles beat Black Stars in Abuja this time around.
This means that the technical crew of Super Eagles and the present generation of players are on trial and should Nigeria fail to beat Ghana on Tuesday after 90 or 120 minutes of football action at the Moshood Abiola National Stadium Abuja, “heads will roll”.
Aside, the $12.5 qualification largesse courtesy of FIFA for teams that will make it Qatar later this year, which is shared between the football federations and players, the Super Eagles technical crew led by Eguavoen will be thrown out like the rotten tomatoes.
Also, the NFF leadership will be axed if Nigeria fails to pick the ticket for Qatar 2022 football fiesta as Nigerians are not tolerant with any NFF (or NFA) leadership that have failed to deliver the FIFA World Cup tickets.
Infact, failure to qualify for the FIFA World Cup final has many negative riple effects on the players, technical crew, football administrators and the gamut of stakeholders in the game.
The loss is always huge as some countries government have sacked the Sports ministers and FAs for failure to qualify for the FIFA World Cup.
With the above in mind, millions of Nigerians are hoping that nothing goes wrong with the Super Eagles when they file out at the Moshood Abiola National Stadium Abuja on Tuesday to do battle with the arch-rivals Black Stars of Ghana.
The Super Eagles on paper pose a real threat to the Black Stars if the quality of players in both teams are anything to rely upon as Coach Eguavoen has enough ammunition in his arsenal to shoot down the Black Stars in Abuja.
Nigeria boasts of more quality players playing regularly in the tough European leagues like Victor Osimhen (Napoli SC); Kelechi Iheanacho and Ademola Lookman (Leicester City FC); Zaidu Sanusi (FC Porto); Samuel Chukwueze (Villarreal SC) and Moses Simon FC (Nantes).
Others are William Troost-Ekong, Oghenekaro Etebo and Emmanuel Dennis (Watford FC) and Frank Onyeka (Brentford FC), all Premier League players as well as veterans like Odion Jude Ighalo of Al Hilal, Ahmed Musa of Fatih Karagumruk, Kenneth Omeruo of CD Leganes and Leon Balogun of Glasgow Rangers FC.
Indeed, the Super Eagles are loaded to the hilt hence anything short of total dominance of the Black Stars for the entire duration of the epic clash and scoring vital goals without letting in any on Tuesday is considered not good enough.
The drummers are ready, the spectators are ready so let the dancers (Super Eagles) give Nigerians what to cheer and cherish for the next four years because our own Qatar 2022 starts on Tuesday with the defeat of the Black Stars at our home turf.
This is a Task that Must be Done. Go Eagles Go Boys.
Harry Awurumibe is Abuja-based Public Affairs Analyst
