Daniel Feliciano

Sat 26 March 2022 11:10, UK

Nigeria’s Rangers trio impressed local media with their performances in the 0-0 draw with Ghana in the first leg of their World Cup qualifier playoff on Friday night.

Leon Balogun and Joe Aribo started the game for the Super Eagles, before defender Calvin Bassey made his international debut as a late substitute.

All Nigerian Soccer posted their reaction to the performance of the side with player ratings and comment, and were largely impressed by the trio.

Defender Balogun earned a 7/10 rating, although the article called him out for being ‘sloppy’ in possession while substitute Bassey was labelled as ‘promising’ for his short cameo.

But midfielder Aribo was the star of the show earning a team-high 7.5/10 rating, with the 25-year-old praised for his ‘battling’ performance. He was substituted around the hour mark and the website suggested it was surprising to see him hauled off.

Promising

The draw wasn’t a bad result for Nigeria, with a home second leg to come and the winner now set for a trip to Qatar in November.

With two of the three set to play a key part in that process, Rangers fans will be keeping a close eye on their performances with the next set of fixtures in April absolutely hectic.

The Bears return to action next weekend with an Old Firm derby clash against Celtic, before a game with St Mirren is sandwiched between the Europa League quarter-finals against Braga.

They then face Celtic again in the Scottish Cup semi-finals, and Giovanni van Bronckhorst will be relying heavily on his Nigerian trio to continue their high levels for the season so far.

First they’ll be part of whether or not their country will take part in the World Cup later this year, but their form is good and their spirits are high right now following Friday’s good performance.

In other Rangers news, BBC pundit fumes at major Rangers player development this week