By Harry Awurumibe, Editor Abuja Bureau
Few hours to the crunchy FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 African qualifiers return leg tie between Nigeria and Ghana at the Moshood Abiola National Stadium Abuja, odds favour the Super Eagles to triumph over the Black Stars on the refurbished home turf.
This is even as all the two previous international matches played in the Abuja stadium since it was renamed after the late Pillar of Sports in Africa and Nigeria’s symbol of Democracy Chief Moshood Abiola, Nigerian teams have won and have not lost or drawn any game in the stadium.
For the records, Nigerian teams have since January 2022 when the stadium was reopened for soccer actions, played and won all the two crucial state-of-the-set World Cup and CAF African qualifier matches at the state-of-the-art stadium.
The Abuja stadium hosted the last international match when the Super Falcons defeated their Senegalese counterparts 2-0 in a Women Africa Cup of Nations (AWCON) qualifying match in April, 2016.
After the match the stadium was shut down for total rehabilitation and was subsequently renamed Moshood Abiola National Stadium Abuja by President Muhammadu Buhari administration. The edifice was then adopted by Africa’s richest man, Alhaji Aliko Dangote for the rehabilitation of the main pitch and e digital Scoreboards.
But since international football returned to the stadium on Saturday, February 5, 2022, Nigerian teams have been recording resounding victories which Nigerians believe will continue today when Super Eagles meet the Black Stars in a top of the bill Qatar 2022 clash.
It started with Nigeria’s women’s U-20 football team, thrashing junior Lionesses of Cameroon 3-0 in a FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup Costa Rica 2022 African qualifiers. The first leg tie had ended 0-0 in Cameroon.
Next country to fall at the Moshood Abiola National Stadium Abuja on February 18, 2022,
was Cote d’Ivoire as the Super Falcons walloped the Lady Elephants 2-0 in the first leg of the final round of AWCON Morocco 2022 qualifiers.
With the two women’s football teams dispatching Cameroon and Cote d Ivoire opponents to qualify for their respective FIFA and CAF competitions, the Super Eagles will have no excuse not to beat the Black Stars black and blue when both teams file out onto the same pitch where the womenfolk have triumphed over their rivals.
Although the Super Eagles are playing a FIFA World Cup qualifier in Abuja for the first time since they last did in October 2009 in a 1-0 win against Mozambique, they will rely on their 3-1 victory over Ghana Black Stars in Abuja in 2003.
Nigeria had defeated Ghana in the semi final clash of the LG Cup 4-Nation Tournament which was held in Nigeria in 2003. The competition which had Iran, Ghana, Cameroon and Nigeria in attendance had the now Moshood Abiola National Stadium, Abuja and the National Stadium in Lagos as venues.
The game played on May 30, 2003 had the likes of Abbey George, Ifeanyi Udeze, Uche Ikechukwu and Joseph Yobo, who is one of the present coaches of Super Eagles.
The Black Stars shone very brightly in the first minutes of the game with Patrick Agyema netting the opener in the second minute. But the Super Eagles hit back in the second half through a brace from Yakubu Aiyegbeni and another goal from Joseph Enakarhire which turned Ghana’s first-half lead into a defeat at full time.
The same fate is likely to befall Ghana Black Stars in Abuja today as the team has never won a match inside the 60,000 capacity Moshood Abiola National Stadium Abuja.
The odds favour the Super Eagles of Nigeria to win the match by two nil.
