Ghana dealt Nigeria another blow as they qualified for the 2023 African Nations Championship (CHAN) today in Abuja.
The Black Galaxies advanced to the competition ahead of the Super Eagles B after winning the penalty shootout 5-4 at the Moshood Abiola National Stadium in Abuja as the tie ended 2-2 on aggregate.
Ghana had won the first leg 2-0 in Cape Coast last week, and came to Abuja confident of progress.
The first half ended goalless today, leaving the Super Eagles B with just 45 minutes to overturn the two-goal deficit.
Salisu Yusuf’s side did get the two goals they needed to level the tie, but they came very late.
Zulkifilu Muhammed gave Nigeria hope by scoring the first goal of the game with 14 minutes left on the clock.
With virtually the final kick of the match, four minutes into added time, Chijioke Akuneto fired in Nigeria’s second goal to make the tie 2-0 on the night and 2-2 on aggregate.
There was no extra-time and the game went straight to penalties.
While the composed Ghanaians converted all their kicks in the shootout, Nigeria missed one and got eliminated 5-4 on penalties.
It is the second time this year Ghana have stopped Nigeria from qualifying for a major tournament, six months after the Black Stars eliminated the Super Eagles from the Qatar 2022 World Cup on the away goals rule.
