Rangers trio primed for two derbies in a week - Jollof rice, then the Old Firm in high-stakes spell

In a week when the stakes could not be higher for them with both club and country, the Rangers trio of Leon Balogun, Joe Aribo and Calvin Bassey will be battle-hardened in two of football’s fiercest rivalries.

Rangers defender Leon Balogun in action for Nigeria against Argentina's Angel Di Maria at the 2018 World Cup Finals in Russia. (Photo by GABRIEL BOUYS/AFP via Getty Images)

For the moment, next Sunday’s crucial Premiership clash against Celtic at Ibrox in on the back burner as they focus on trying to seal a place at the World Cup Finals with Nigeria on Tuesday evening.

For the Super Eagles, fixtures don’t come any bigger than the second leg of their play-off tie against Ghana in which they will be backed by a frenzied crowd of around 60,000 at the Moshood Abiola National Stadium in Abuja.

After a goalless draw in the first leg in Ghana on Friday, Nigeria are now slight favourites to claim a slot in Friday’s draw for the Qatar finals. But they will have to break a 16-year hoodoo to get there.

Nigeria have not beaten Ghana since a 1-0 win in the group stage of the 2006 Africa Cup of Nations finals in Egypt. The bragging rights in the bitter West African rivalry – known as the Jollof derby because of a feud over which country makes the better Jollof rice – have been firmly held by Ghana since, including victories for the Black Stars at the Africa Cup of Nations finals in both 2008 and 2010.

But it is the Super Eagles who boast the superior World Cup record – Nigeria are bidding to qualify for their fourth consecutive World Cup Finals and eighth in total, while Ghana have qualified just three times.

Rangers defender Balogun, whose performance in the first leg against Ghana last week was widely praised, is set to win his 44th cap on Tuesday with the 33-year-old looking to make it to the second World Cup Finals of his career. He played every minute of every game for Nigeria when they were eliminated at the group stage in Russia in 2018.

Aribo was substituted after an hour in the first leg but the 25-year-old playmaker is expected to start again, possibly in a more advanced role. Full-back Bassey made his Nigeria debut as a second half sub in Ghana and could claim a first start on Tuesday.

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