Nigeria failed to qualify for the World Cup the last time they beat Ghana

As the Super Eagles of Nigeria gear up to face the Black Stars of Ghana, it is worth noting that history does not really favour Nigeria in this bout.

The Super Eagles have not won any of the last four Jollof derbies, with three Ghana wins and a draw in the most recent encounter back in October 2011.

The last time Nigeria recorded a win in this fixture was all the way back in 2006, exactly 16 years and two months ago in an Africa Cup of Nations group stage game in Egypt.

Now here are the noteworthy things about that 1-0 win.

Augustine ‘Cerezo’ Eguavoen was the head coach of the Super Eagles for that game, just as he will be for the next one at the Baba Yara Stadium and then in Abuja on Tuesday, March 25 2022.

And while that may be cause for celebration for Nigerians it is also important to note that something else happened that year, the Super Eagles missed out on the 2006 FIFA World Cup in Germany.

So if history was to repeat itself (hypothetically speaking here, bear with me) Nigeria will beat Ghana in one of the two fixtures and still fail to qualify for the World Cup, after all, Augustine Eguavoen was the last man to achieve both of those feats in the same year.

Nigerians will be hoping that history does a 180 this time around and not the full 360, and that Eguavoen maintains his standing as the only man to lead Nigeria to a win against Ghana in the last 18+ years.

If Nigeria can beat Ghana and also qualify for the 2022 FIFA World Cup while denying their arch-rivals in the process, Eguavoen should probably be immortalised.