Arsenal: 5 standout moments from international break

Thomas Partey Fires Ghana Into World Cup

Having to make their way into the World Cup finals via the play-off system after finishing top of their qualifying group, Ghana tried to pull out all the tricks to unsettle Nigeria in their two-legged shootout.

Deliberately giving the travelling party a shorter stairwell when fthey exited their plane – forcing them to effectively climb out of the aircraft – and providing their team news at the very last second was just two of their tactics aimed to give them an edge in the first leg. It didn’t work, with a 0-0 stalemate following.

With away goals counting, a score draw would be enough for the Black Stars to progress to Qatar at the Abuja National Stadium in the second leg… so up stepped Thomas Partey.

Taking a shot from outside the box, what should have been a comfortable save was embarrassingly allowed to squirm through Francis Uzoho in the tenth minute. Nigeria hit back with a penalty on 22 minutes, but Ghana held firm to book their place in the 2022 World Cup.

While there will be some concern about having a key player set to feature over the winter, anyone who has watched Ghana won’t be overly worried about Partey playing too many games. They’re very, very poor.

Still, it’s a lovely moment for him and gives him something to build up for across the year. And, a special mention for Takehiro Tomiyasu’s Japan too, who booked their place as well.

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