By Adedapo Adesanya
The Technical Director of the Nigerian senior team – the Super Eagles, Mr Augustine Eguavoen, has said he will deliver Nigeria the world cup qualification ticket. The global tournament is scheduled to hold in Qatar later in the year.
The first leg of the Ghana- Nigeria tie ended in an uneventful goalless draw last Friday and on Tuesday (today) by 6 pm, the return leg will take place in Abuja.
Speaking at a pre-match conference in Abuja today, Mr Eguavoen disclosed that he understood the level of expectation ahead of the crunch tie and assured Nigerians of his squad picking the golden ticket.
“Expectations are high, Nigerians, football lovers and Super Eagles supporters have been praying and cheering for the team, they should continue in that manner,” he said.
“We can promise them at the end of the day we will make everyone happy, keep the support high, fill up the stadium and support Nigeria,” the former Nigerian international, who played in the 1994 World Cup in the United States, said.
Asked if he was under pressure to deliver, he noted, “I am not under any pressure, I am representing all Nigerian coaches both old and young. We want to collectively be in Qatar that is the message, once we cross the line everybody will be jubilating.”
Meanwhile, the coach of the Black Stars of Ghana, Mr Otto Addo, revealed his side needed to improve on their last performance to stand a chance of qualification.
The Ghanaian contingent had arrived Monday afternoon aboard a chartered aircraft at the Nnamdi Azikwe International Airport with 25 players, technical crew members, and officials of the Ghana Football Association.
“We have to improve and limit the Nigerian chances and we should try to score. We had some chances and if we improve on that we can start scoring,” coach Addo said.
He also noted that he also felt no pressure like his counterpart but saw it as a privilege
“Pressure for me is a privilege as the coach of the Ghana National team, 20 million Ghanaians will like to be here so I consider it a privilege.
“This is no pressure but surely we want to qualify, so, I told the guys to go out there and have fun. If we make mistakes you can take it on me, we will try to play football surely and we try to score and try to win,” he said.
The M.K.O Abiola Stadium in Abuja is the venue for the decider between both sides at 6 p.m. local time.
To boost support for the national team, the Federal Ministry of Youth and Sports Development and the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) purchased 20,000 tickets for fans.
A victory for Nigeria would mean the country will clinch its seventh World Cup finals ticket. The Super Eagles were present in the USA in 1994, France in 1998, Korea/Japan in 2002, South Africa in 2010, Brazil in 2014, and Russia in 2018. The country didn’t qualify for the tourney held in Germany in 2006 after losing the spot to Angola.
Modupe Gbadeyanka 
Dipo Olowookere