In all honesty, when African giants Nigeria and Ghana were paired with minnows Swaziland and Comoros, fans expected things to be a very easy two-legged affair for both the Super Eagles and the Black Stars. Without showing any disrespect to their two opponents, neither Comoros nor Swaziland have ever qualified for a major tournament either in Africa or internationally, and the general consensus was that it would be a case of damage control for both hosts this past Friday.
However, as things stand, the return legs - set to be contested this Tuesday - are actually quite finely poised following two surprise 0-0 stalemates in Swaziland and Comoros on Friday. The pressure is firmly now on Nigeria and Ghana, both chasing qualification for their third and fourth consecutive World Cup tournaments respectively to get things right in front of their home crowds after two insipid performances. On the other hand, these results now leave supporters of Swaziland and Comoros hoping that they just may be able to do what appeared to be the unthinkable: to book their tickets to the next round at the expense of these two West African powerhouses.
Nigeria vs. Swaziland
A lethargic performance from Sunday Oliseh's men at the Somhlolo National Stadium was not what Nigerian supporters would have expected as they took to the pitch on Friday. Although the surface - made up of rather uneven artificial turf - obviously made play difficult, both goalkeepers Carl Ikeme and Swaziland's Nhlanhla Gwebu were kept busy throughout the course of the game, meaning that the hosts were not always keen on sitting back and parking the bus (albeit, of course, they did so for spells of the match when it became necessary).
Although Oliseh attempted to spark life into their flagging attack by introducing Obafemi Martins and Kelechi Iheanacho, it was not enough to break down their dogged opponents and Harry Bulunga will certainly be the happier of the two tacticians when the two sides meet again in a few days' time.
Ghana vs. Comoros
Meanwhile, Avram Grant's side are in a similiar situation after failing to take advantage against Comoros on the road this past Friday. However, despite the disappointing result, skipper Asamoah Gyan is still upbeat on his team's chances of progressing as anticipated.
"Ghana's [fans] should expect a good performance [as] we are playing to qualify," the 29-year-old star, who now plays his club football for Chinese outfit Shanghai SIPG noted post-match.
Nonetheless, he was full of praise for the approach taken by Comoros, yet expects his side to turn things around on home soil.
"We were more compact with everybody behind the ball and Comoros were relying on counter-attacks which really helped their game plan. [All in all] they were disciplined on the field [as] they knew what could happen to them playing [against a team like] Ghana."
With such a bold promise made to fans, those in attendance in Kumasi as well as those viewing on television sets around the country and across the world will definitely expect the Black Stars to come through with a vastly improved showing this Tuesday.
Will Nigeria and Ghana, as expected, get things right to progress? Or will fans be in for another shock should Swaziland and Comoros pull off what would be one of the biggest upsets seen in recent times for African football?
Make sure you do not miss out on these two crucial World Cup qualifiers by bookmarking LiveSoccerTV.com's special Nigeria vs. Swaziland and Ghana vs. Comoros match pages for specific viewing options and times for your current location.
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