Ghana vs Nigeria: Key facts for Black Stars 2022 World Cup playoff against Super Eagles

Ghana will face Nigeria in a 2022 World Cup playoff after a devastating failure at the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations in Cameroon some few weeks ago in the central African country.

These two footballing nations are two of the most recognizable on the continent. They will clash in a two-legged match in March.

Ghana will host the first leg of the tournament on March 25, before traveling to Nigeria for the return fixture four days later. The country hopes to reach the World Cup finals for the first time since 2014.

The odds favor Nigeria for this tie. While the Ghanaians did not qualify for the 2018 edition, they were able to play in the finals of the World Cup in Nigeria.

Ghana in hard times

The Black Stars entered the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations with the expectation of being one of the outside favorites to win the competition.

Milovan Rajevac's men hoped to win their first continental crown since 1982, with most of their stars at their peak.

They looked like they were in prime position to join the Atlas Lions for the knockouts, as they were paired together with Gabon, Comoros and Morocco, who are defending champions.

Andre Ayew, and his team would leave the tournament in the group stages with not a single win.

The Ghanaians were unable to draw 1-1 with Gabon and lost the remaining 2 group matches to Morocco, Comoros, which broke the nation's heart.

After Ghana's disappointing performance in the most prestigious African competition, Rajevac was relieved of his duties earlier in the month.

Otto Addo, a former Black Stars international, was appointed interim manager for the country’s upcoming qualifier play-offs against Nigeria.

The Super Eagles, unlike Ghana, advanced to the 2021 AFCON knockout stages as Group D winners. They racked up all nine points during the group phase.

Tunisia, however, proved to be a formidable opponent in the first knockout round. They defeated Augustine Eguavoen's team with a hard-fought 1-0 victory in the last-16.

Revenge-poised Tie

Last time Ghana and Nigeria met in the World Cup qualifying, the Black Stars lost to a terrible 3-0 defeat which eventually cost them their place at '2002 Korea/Japan'.

The Super Eagles were beaten by the Ghanaians in the Africa Cup of Nations knockouts. This happened in three consecutive tournaments, held between 2008 and 2014.

The Nigerians will feel the heat of revenge when they face off at Cape Coast Stadium on March 25, 2015.