W/Cup playoffs: Nigeria loses slot to Ghana, Senegal, Cameroon, Morocco, Tunisia through
Nigeria loses out of the Qatar 2022 FIFA World Cup finals after the Super Eagles could only draw 1-1 with the Black Stars of Ghana on Tuesday.
The draw in this home leg of the qualifying competition’s playoff round came short of helping Nigeria’s pursuit of a seventh mundial appearance.
Both sides had drawn goalless on Friday in the opening leg at the Baba Yara Stadium in Kumasi.
The Super Eagles had then needed an outright win at the Moshood Abiola National Stadium in Abuja.
But a disjointed performance which fell short of the expectations of a massively-supporting home crowd ensured Nigeria will not be counted among the world’s football super powers in the tournament billed for November.
The Super Eagles did set out with zest before a full house at the officially-estimated 60,491-capacity stadium, as Emmanuel Dennis poorly ended a good move in the eighth minute.
However, the Black Stars soon showed their hand by stunning the home side through Thomas Partey whose shot from about 25 metres out went past goalkeeper Francis Uzoho.
Victor Osimhen led the Eagles’ immediate fight back, coming close to drawing level a minute after with a wide shot.
But in the 19th minute, a fierce tussle in the Black Stars’ penalty area soon drew Tunisian referee Selmi Sadok’s attention for a penalty kick which William Ekong scored.
The battle then raged on, with Nigeria thinking they had taken the lead in the 34th minute when Victor Osimhen ran hard on a floated ball from Oghenekaro Etebo.
He got past goalkeeper Joseph Wollacott to push the ball into the net, but a VAR check by the referee ruled out the strike.
With the Black Stars now firmly sitting back in the second half, the Super Eagles unfortunately struggled to create the goalscoring chances needed.
Ademola Lookman should have done better in the 50th minute, while Joseph Ayodele-Aribo and Osimhen, the latter on two occasions, failed to get the goal they needed to turn the table.
And the match thereafter wore on agonisingly for the expectant home crowd which gave its all into cheering on the Eagles, even with the late inclusion of Odion Ighalo and Ahmed Musa.
The result meant the Black Stars qualified on the away goal rule for the World Cup billed for Nov. 21 to Dec. 18 in Qatar.
Meanwhile, in other African national team qualifiers, there was heartbreak for Mohamed Salah and the Pharaohs of Egypt on Tuesday as they suffered another dramatic penalty kick shootout defeat to Senegal.
The result meant they lost out on qualification for the 2022 FIFA World Cup billed for Qatar in November and December.
Salah’s Liverpool teammate Sadio Mane sent Senegal through with the winning penalty kick in the shootout victory after the Egyptian missed his effort.
Hosts Senegal had recovered from a 1-0 first-leg deficit to beat Egypt by the same margin at the Abdoulaye Wade Stadium in Dakar.
Salah, with dozens of laser pens seemingly pointing at his face, fired Egypt’s first penalty kick of the shootout over the bar.
Mostafa Mohamed later failed with the visitors’ fourth kick, allowing Mane to slam his penalty kick past Mohamed El Shenawy and seal Senegal’s progress.
It was a repeat of the west African side’s 2021 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) title triumph against Egypt in Cameroon last February.
Also, Cameroon upset Algeria with a stunning late drama in Bilda as Karl Toko Ekambi scored late in extra time to seal a 2-1 win for visitors Cameroon against Algeria.
The Indomitable Lions have now progressed to Qatar via away goals after a 2-2 aggregate draw.
Algeria thought they had sealed a place at the World Cup when Ahmed Touba cancelled out Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting’s opener with two minutes remaining in extra time.
But there was just enough time left for Ekambi to seal the most dramatic of victories.
Morocco also booked their place in Friday’s World Cup draw with an emphatic 4-1 win over Democratic Republic of Congo.
A brace from Azzedine Ounahi, and goals from Tarik Tissoudali and Achraf Hakimi, sealed a 5-2 aggregate win over DR Congo, who scored a late consolation through Ben Malango.
Meanwhile, a 0-0 draw for Tunisia against Mali was enough to see the former seal their own place in Qatar after they managed a 1-0 win in the first leg.
