Legendary Ghana forward Dan Owusu has identified the challenges in the Black Stars team ahead of the crucial World Cup play-off against Nigeria this evening.
The tension is building up for the massive showdown at the Moshood Abiola Stadium in Abuja which hold the destiny over 200 million Nigerian fans.
The Super Eagles held the Black Stars to a 0-0 draw at the Baba Yara Stadium in the first leg and are hoping to secure qualification on home turf.
The Black Stars landed in Abuja on Monday with 26 players in preparation for the second part of the play-off against Nigeria.
Speaking ahead of the clash, the former Kotoko attacker noted Ghana lack prolific strikers who can put the ball at the back of the net for the Black Stars.
Despite identifying the deficiency, Dan Owusu believes Ghana can qualify with a little push.
“I want to congratulate the players, in fact they did extremely well against Nigeria. Nobody expected such performance from them on the back of poor showing at AFCON 2021”
“To me, Ghana could have beaten Nigeria if we had a clinical attacker, we don’t have strikers who can put the ball into the net for us. Jordan Ayew shouldn’t have played the entire duration but in a whole the team did well”
“Partey wasn’t at his usual best for us, he was the weakest link in our team. In fact, Amartey and Djiku were solid, keeping Osimhen out of the game is something commendable. The return league in Abuja won’t be easy but I believe with a little push, we can qualify for the World Cup”
“To me, the team played 75% in Kumasi, however, if they are able to play about 80% in Abuja, they can qualify” he added.
Meanwhile, Nigeria are optimistic about victory, which will secure their place in the World Cup finals in Qatar.
The stadium is expected to be packed after the Confederation of African Football approved the Nigeria Football Federation's proposal to allow 60,000 people to witness the match.
A scoring draw will see Ghana qualify for the 2022 FIFA World Cup mundial in Qatar in November this year whiles Nigeria needs a win to make it at the expense of Ghana.
Nigeria are in search of their 7th World Cup qualification whereas Ghana chase their 4th qualification.