Ghana are through to the Fifa World Cup Qatar 2022 after holding Nigeria to a 1-1 draw in the second leg of their final African qualifying tie in Abuja on Tuesday.
Before the second leg, the Super Eagles had played out a goalless draw with with Black Stars in Kumasi last Friday and eventually crashed out on away goals rule following the 1-1 aggregate result at the Moshood Abiola Stadium.
The Ghanaians made an enterprising start to the contest and underscored their intent with an early opener no thanks to Francis Uzoho's error in the 10th minute.
The Nigerians, however sought to make an instant response and were rewarded with a penalty after Ademola Lookman was brought down by Dennis Odoi in the 19th minute.
Although the Tunisian center referee had waved off the incident, his decision was overturned following VAR review and captain William Troost-Ekong rose to the occasion to slot home the resulting kick and level matters for Augustine Eguavoen's side.
In the 34th minute, the Super Eagles almost got in front when Victor Osimhen found the back of the net after receiving a fine through pass from Leon Balogun but VAR came to the rescue of Ghana as it ruled out the goal for an offside to fans' shock.
After the break, Otto Addo's men defended solidly despite everything thrown at them by Nigeria as the several changes made by Augustine Eguavoen could not alter the status of the encounter for the hosts.
As it stands, Ghana have not qualified for their fourth appearance at the World Cup, achieving their first since 2014 while the seventh appearance hopeful Super Eagles will miss out of the global showpiece for the first time since 2006.
