On Friday night, Ghana and Nigeria go head-to-head in the first leg play-off of the FIFA World Cup qualifier play-offs, with just one of the African giants able to qualify for Qatar 2022.
Ghana head into this clash on the back of a four-game unbeaten run in World Cup qualifying, having recorded three victories. Last time out, the Black Stars recorded a 1-0 win over South Africa.
Training!!! #SoarSuperEagles pic.twitter.com/nhXYV3pK3H— 🇳🇬 Super Eagles (@NGSuperEagles) March 23, 2022
Training!!! #SoarSuperEagles pic.twitter.com/nhXYV3pK3H
The game followed a familiar low-scoring trend for Ghana in World Cup qualifying, as seven of their last eight qualifiers have produced under 2.5 goals.
Ghana are unbeaten in 25 home matches in World Cup qualifying. In fact, they have lost just one of their last 28 World Cup qualifiers on home soil. The 1-0 win over South Africa in their last World Cup qualifier on home soil was their third straight qualifying win on home soil.
The victory also means that Ghana have conceded just one goal in their last three home World Cup qualifiers.
Nigeria have a strong recent record in World Cup qualifying, as the Super Eagles have lost just one of their last 42 qualifiers. The visitors go into this clash on the back of a three-game unbeaten run in qualifying, having recorded two wins and a draw.
A 1-1 draw against Cabo Verde in their last qualifier was another low-scoring encounter for Nigeria, as the Super Eagles’ last four games in qualifying have produced under 2.5 goals.
Nigeria are 21 World Cup qualifiers unbeaten on their travels. The Super Eagles recorded three straight away wins in World Cup qualifiers, having also scored at least two goals in all three of the victories.
The recent history of this fixture is against Nigeria, as the Super Eagles have lost three of the last four meetings with Ghana.
Forebet predicts that this game will produce a low-scoring draw, which leaves the tie in the balance with the second leg still to come.