Ghana and Nigeria both failed to achieve their respective targets at the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations held in Cameroon.
The Super Eagles, who topped their Group before their Round of 16 elimination against Tunisia, did better than the Black Stars – worst ever AFCON performance Ghana has ever seen, failing to win a single game.
This makes the 2022 FIFA World Cup play off between these African rivals a paramount one.
An advantage the Super Eagles currently have over Ghana is their number of players at the top level of European football.
When Nigeria announced their provisional squad for the play off on March 4th, ten of those players in the selection ply their trade in the most recognized leagues in Europe namely Wiliam Ekong and Emmanuel Dennis of Watford in England, Ola Aina of Torino in Italy.
There is also Samuel Chukwueze of Villareal in the La Liga, Napoli attacker Victor Osimhen, Wilfred Ndidi and Iheanacho of Leicester City. Big names.
Image – Wilfred Ndidi of Leicester City.
Image – Victor Osimhen of Napoli
In comparison Ghana has Premier League trio Thomas Partey, Daniel Amartey and Jordan Ayew as the high level footballers. There is also a mention of Kamaldeen Sulemana of Rennes in the Ligue 1.
If Chelsea’s Hudson Odoi and Southampton’s Salisu Mohammed were to commit to the Black Stars then Ghana would certainly look great in this regard.
However, the AFCON in Cameroon taught us that an assembly of big name players alone does not guarantee success especially in the current African game. Much more is needed.
SEE THE FULL SQUAD OF NIGERIA BELOW WITH THE 10 HIGH LEVEL PLAYERS HIGHLIGHTED:
Goalkeepers: Francis Uzoho (AC Omonia, Cyprus); Daniel Akpeyi (Kaizer Chiefs, South Africa); Maduka Okoye (Sparta Rotterdam, The Netherlands)
Defenders: Oluwasemilogo Ajayi (West Bromwich Albion, England); Kenneth Omeruo (CD Leganes, Spain); Leon Balogun (Glasgow Rangers, Scotland); William Ekong (Watford FC, England); Olaoluwa Aina (Torino FC, Italy); Calvin Bassey (Glasgow Rangers, Scotland); Abdullahi Shehu (AC Omonia, Cyprus); Zaidu Sanusi (FC Porto, Portugal)
Midfielders: Frank Onyeka (Brentford FC, England); Joseph Ayodele-Aribo (Glasgow Rangers, Scotland); Wilfred Ndidi (Leicester City, England); Oghenekaro Etebo (Watford FC, England); Akinkunmi Amoo (FC Copenhagen, Denmark)
Forwards: Ahmed Musa (Fatih Karagumruk, Turkey); Samuel Chukwueze (Villarreal FC, Spain); Victor Osimhen (Napoli FC, Italy); Moses Simon (FC Nantes, France); Sadiq Umar (UD Almeria, Spain); Odion Jude Ighalo (Al-Hilal FC, Saudi Arabia); Kelechi Iheanacho (Leicester City, England); Emmanuel Dennis (Watford FC, England); Ademola Lookman (Leicester City, England)
Standby: Chidozie Awaziem (Alanyaspor FC, Turkey); Jamilu Collins (SC Padeborn 07, Germany); Chidera Ejuke (CSKA Moscow, Russia); Taiwo Awoniyi (Union Berlin, Germany); Paul Onuachu (KRC Genk, Belgium); Peter Olayinka (SK Slavia Praha, Czech Republic); Ogenyi Onazi (Al-Adalah FC, Saudi Arabia)
