The Super Eagles of Nigeria are set to receive a sum of N5.6 billion (€12.2 million) from the Federation of International Football Association (FIFA) if they beat Black Stars of Ghana in the return fixture of the 2022 World Cup Qualifiers.
The Super Eagles were held to a goalless draw by Ghana in the first leg of their qualifying match which held in Kumasi, Ghana on Friday 25th of March 2022.
The winner of this fixture will proceed to book a place at the 2022 World Cup which will take place in Qatar later this year. According to FIFA, the qualifying bonus for teams has been increased from €10 million to €12.2 million to help the qualified teams prepare well for the tournament.
€12.2 million is an equivalent of N5.6 billon and should Nigeria qualify for the 2022 World Cup by beating Ghana in the return leg holding at MKO Abiola Stadium, Abuja, they will receive the qualifying bonus. Ghana will become the recipient should they beat Nigeria.
The tie is still open as Nigeria were denied a penalty by the VAR at the last minute of the first leg, forcing them to settle for a goalless draw which will make the second leg more difficult to scale.
The Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) received €10 million from FIFA when they qualified for the 2018 World Cup in Russia.
Nigeria have kept a clean sheet in each of their last four meetings in World Cup qualifiers against Ghana – winning one and drawing three, although they have failed to score in four of the previous five such meetings themselves.
Ghana remain unbeaten in their last six games against Nigeria in all competitions – winning three and drawing three.
There is just a single goal scored across the last four meetings (Asamoah Gyan’s winner for Ghana at the 2010 AFCON), with the last three encounters ending goalless (a friendly in 2010 and most recently at the 2022 World Cup Qualifiers held on March 25, 2022).
Nigeria and Ghana are looking forward to the second leg set to hold in Abuja, Nigeria which will confirm the team that gets to play at the upcoming 2022 Qatar World Cup.
Qatar, Germany, Denmark, Brazil, France, Belgium, Croatia, Spain, Serbia, England, Switzerland, The Netherlands, Canada, Argentina, Ecuador, Uruguay, Iran, South Korea, Japan, and Saudi Arabia have all qualified for the 2022 World Cup.
