World Cup Qualifier: Enraged fans destroy MKO Abiola Stadium as Nigeria loses to Ghana

By Matthew Eloyi

After a 1-1 tie with Ghana, the Super Eagles of Nigeria failed to qualify for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, causing chaos at the MKO Abiola Stadium in Abuja.

Angry fans invaded the pitch shortly after the final whistle, chased all of the players away, and destroyed stadium amenities.

The pitch was filled with smoke as fans hurled things against Ghana’s Black Stars.

As of the time of filing this report, it was unknown whether any players were injured.

Nigeria’s Super Eagles drew 1-1 with Ghana’s Black Stars in their playoff final match at the Moshood Abiola National Stadium in Abuja, falling short of securing a place in the 2022 FIFA World Cup. On Friday, both teams fought to a 0-0 draw in Kumasi.

In front of a sellout crowd of 60,491, the Super Eagles started brightly, with Emmanuel Dennis shading three defenders only to overhit his cross in the eighth minute.

Ghana stunned the 60,000-strong crowd when Thomas Partey unleashed a 20-yard shot that sailed past goalkeeper Francis Uzoho and into the net for the game’s first goal.

A minute later, Victor Osimhen came near to equalizing but pulled his shot wide, and a violent scuffle in the Ghanaian area ended with Tunisian referee Selmi Sadok handing Nigeria a penalty kick in the 19th minute. Goalkeeper Joseph Wollacott was sent the wrong way by William Ekong.

Nigeria thought they had taken the lead in the 34th minute when Victor Osimhen sprinted hard on a floated ball from Oghenekaro Etebo and got past Wollacott to tap into the net, but the strike was ruled out after a VAR check by referee Sadok. Dennis’ cut back was successfully dealt with by Wollacott on the stroke of halftime.

In the second half, the Eagles struggled to create many chances but they failed to score the goal they needed to turn the game around.

On the basis of the away goal rule, Ghana qualified for the showcase in Qatar.