The 50th installment of the Ghana – Nigerris rivalry kicked off on Friday at the Baba Yara Stadium as both countries jostled for a ticket to the 2022 FIFA World Cup scheduled for Qatar later in the year.
Coach Augustine Eguavoen had to replace two stalwarts in the team -Wilfred Ndidi and Maduka Okoye – with Innocent Bonke and Francis Uzoho and he also handed debuts to Ademola Lookman and Calvin Bassey.
These are the player ratings:
| Name | Age | Mins | Rating | Description |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Francis Uzoho | 23 | 90 | 2022-10-07 00:00:00 | He was calm and dealt excellently with every challenge. Came to claim balls when his defenders were under pressure and dealt with one fierce long-range effort to preserve the clean sheet. |
| Ola Aina | 25 | 90 | 2022-10-06 00:00:00 | Aina made many assumptions, hoping for positive calls from the referee, which were ignored. He did not overlap as much as he would have liked but his defensive shift was commendable. |
| William Troost-Ekong | 28 | 90 | 2022-10-05 00:00:00 | Ekong was troubled all evening by balls over his head. He made some good tackles in the second half but he does not breed any confidence in those watching as the Ghanaians knew they could target him. |
| Leon Balogun | 33 | 90 | 7.5/10 | Apart from one sortie up the pitch in which he lost the ball, Balogun was excellent in the timing and accuracy of his tackles. He used his vast experience to cover up for his central defensive partner and helped keep the clean sheet. |
| Zaidu Sanusi | 24 | 74 | 2022-10-07 00:00:00 | A very bright showing from the left-back left no one in doubt about his ability. He joined the attack on a few occasions and was strong in the tackle and not allowing space behind him. |
| Innocent Bonke | 26 | 62 | 2022-10-06 00:00:00 | Bonke was his aggressive self and tried to win balls that were not in his favour. He grew into the game and helped keep Ghana at bay. |
| Joe Aribo | 25 | 59 | 2022-10-07 00:00:00 | Great effort from the Rangers man and could have capped his performance with a goal. Almost totally negated the influence of Thomas Partey and was not cowed by the physical battle. |
| Kelechi Iheanacho | 25 | 90 | 2022-10-06 00:00:00 | It was a surprise Iheanacho played all 90 minutes. He was loose in possession but for the almost assist to Simon in the second half. It will be hard to pick out any other good play from the Leicester City forward. |
| Moses Simon | 26 | 74 | 2022-10-06 00:00:00 | Simon tried to do too much, especially in the first half. He could have won the match for the Eagles with his chance in the second half. |
| Samuel Chukwueze | 22 | 59 | 2022-10-06 00:00:00 | Eguavoen would be pleased with Chukwueze’s work rate and energy to fall back and help his full-backs. He still needs to find his best form for the |
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