2022 FIFA World Cup Qualifier: Super Eagles set for all-important decider against Cape Verde, Tuesday

[By VICTOR NZE]

Nigeria’s Super Eagles will, Tuesday, in Lagos, host the Blue Sharks of Cape Verde for the sole Group C ticket to the final playoffs in the Africa zone of the Qatar 2022 FIFA World Cup.

The final match day 6 of Group C will be played at the Teslim Balogun Stadium, Tuesday, with Nigeria needing just a draw to qualify for the playoffs, while Cape Verde need an outright win to add to their 10 points already gathered though the group matches.

If the Super Eagles had beaten Central African Republic (CAR), last month in Lagos, today’s match would have been a mere formality.

The match is also a bit dicey considering that last September’s first fixture was only won by Nigeria by a slim and unconvincing 2-1 scoreline having come from a goal down to secure victory through an own goal by a Cape Verde defender.

The match played on the island of Mindelo in Cape Verde, off the West African coast, had concluded the first round of matches for the Qatar 2022 World Cup qualifiers.

Cape Verde opened the scoring in the 19^th minute through Tavares who found himself in an advanced position to fire to the near post beating the goalkeeper Maduka Okoye for the first goal.

Victor Osimhen equalized few minutes later in the 29^th minute when his initial cross into the six-yard box was blocked by the goalkeeper, but on the rebound the ball ends up in the back of the net to make it 1-1.

With 15 minutes left into the match, Cape Verde defender, Santos returned a ball to his goalkeeper which ended up at the back of the net for an own goal to make it 1-2.

Nigeria currently have 12 points and a draw will see the team through on 13 points as table toppers. However, a win will ensure the Super Eagles not only top the Group C, but also stand a chance of being placed in Pot 1 of the playoffs which will involve all 10 countries which have topped their various groups in the Africa zone qualifiers.

FIFA is introducing a playoff system in the Africa qualifiers for the first time, as previous editions have seen the winners of the each of the five groups in the qualification series emerge with the tickets to the football tournament.

However, this edition will see 10 group winners enter into a playoff system with two teams paired to play on a home and away fixture with the eventual five winners picking a ticket each to the World Cup. Africa maintains its five slots to the World Cup.

Nigeria need to win against Cape Verde and top Group C with the maximum points of 15, in this case, as the country dropped three points in the loss to Central African Republic, last month in Lagos. Winning will ensure the Super Eagles are placed in Pot 1, which guarantees that the country will get to be paired with another group winner who emerged with lesser points.

The all-important match is scheduled for 5pm Nigerian time.

The playoffs have been fixed for March, next year, but the fixtures are yet to be determined by FIFA.

Tuesday’s match became an all-important decider following the results from last Saturday’s qualifying matches in the African zone of the World Cup which saw the Super Eagles of Nigeria beat Lone Star of Liberia by 2-0, while the Blue Sharks of Cape Verde defeated the Central African Republic (CAR) by 2-1 on home soil in Mindelo.

Before Saturday’s round of fixtures, Nigeria were on 9 points and needed Cape Verde to drop points to ensure a guaranteed ticket, as the country would have finished the week on 12 points and Cape Verde with a maximum of either 7 or 8 points.

Playing Liberia away in Tangier, Morocco, Saturday evening, the Super Eagles hit two goals from the penalty spot, one each scored by Victor Osimhen (11^th minute) and captain Ahmed Musa in stoppage time to seal a 2-0 win and maintain their lead in Group C with 12 points.

Cape Verde follows with 10 points after coming from behind to beat CAR in Cameroun by 2-1.

The Super Eagles will begin to rue their missed opportunity of sealing the ticket when they failed to beat CAR at home in Lagos, and instead lost by a lone goal. If that match had been won, then last Saturday’s result would only have meant a guaranteed ticket for the final playoffs with a match to spare, with today’s (Tuesday) game being a mere formality.

Also, captain Ahmed Musa, who plays for Turkish club, Fatih Karagumruk, set a new record as the most capped international with 102 caps for the Super Eagles.

The Super Eagles are aiming for their sixth World Cup appearance, having qualified for all but one of the tournaments since their debut in 1994 in the United States.

Already, some groups have concluded their qualification as six African countries have emerged and ready for the playoffs, next year.

If Nigeria win Tuesday’s encounter against Cape Verde, they will join Ghana, Senegal, Morocco, Egypt, Mali and DR Congo who topped their various groups to qualify for the playoffs.

Ghana defeated South Africa 1-0 in the final match of their group, Monday, in Accra to pick a ticket to the playoffs.

In Europe, five other countries have also emerged with tickets to the football tournament in Qatar next year, while others will have to go through a playoffs system to decide the final number of representatives from the continent. They include: Germany, Denmark, Brazil, France and Belgium.

These countries join the host Qatar as confirmed for the tournament.

The FIFA 2022 World Cup qualifiers began in June 2019 and are expected to finish in June 2022. The event holds in Qatar holds between November and December, 20222.