Former Nigeria forward Daniel Amokachi has lifted the lid on the penalty incident during the Super Eagles’ 2022 FIFA World Cup playoff against the Black Stars of Ghana last Friday.
Ghana and Nigeria played out a goalless draw in the first leg at the Baba Yara Sports stadium in Kumasi.
Nigeria thought they had earned a penalty in the 75th minute after Idrissu Baba handled the ball in the box but the referee overturned his initial verdict after consulting the VAR.
Amokachi believes that it would have been a penalty if Iheanacho had not pushed Baba in the build-up, insisting that the referee made the right call.
"When the referee was called back to look at the monitor, we knew it was going to be disallowed. That’s when I saw the trip," Amokachi said on SuperSport.
"We saw the replay, the referee that went to see the monitor had a better chance to see it.
"It was a penalty kick one hundred percent without the pull, but when you look at it, a foul before the penalty kick, I think the referee got it spot on," he added.
The two West African countries will face each other in the second leg on Tuesday at the Moshood Abiola Stadium in Abuja.
The winner of the tie will represent the continent at the World football showpiece which is scheduled to take place from November 21 to December 18.
The Super Eagles are seeking to qualify for the global showpiece a 7th time and, since 1994, have missed only one of seven editions. The last of three appearances by Ghana was in 2014.