Nigeria national football team
The Nigeria national football team, nicknamed the Super Eagles, is the national team of Nigeria and is controlled by the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF). According to the FIFA World Rankings, Nigeria ranks 15th and holds the second highest place among the African nations behind Egypt (10th). Their highest position ever reached on the ranking was 5th in April 1994.
Nigeria national Football Assocaiation
 | |
Association | |
Nickname(s) | Super Eagles |
Confederation | CAF ( |
Head coach | |
Asst coach | |
Captain | Nwankwo Kanu |
Most caps | Mudashiru Lawal (86) |
Top scorer | Rashidi Yekini (37) |
Home stadium | |
FIFA code | NGA |
FIFA ranking | 15 |
Highest FIFA ranking | 5 (April 1994) |
Lowest FIFA ranking | 82 (November 1999) |
Elo ranking | 28 |
Highest Elo ranking | 14 ( |
Lowest Elo ranking | 87 ( |
History of Nigeria national football team
In October 1949 Nigeria played their first official game, while still a British colony. The team played warmup games in England against various amateur teams like Dulwich Hamlet, Bishop Auckland and South Liverpool. The team's first major success was a gold medal in the 2nd All-Africa games, with 3rd place finishes in 1976 and 1978's African Cup of Nations. In 1980 the team had such players as Leyton Orient's John Chiedozie and Tunji Banjo, and the Muda Lawal / Christian Chukwu-led Super Eagles won the Cup for the first time in Lagos. In 1984 and 1988, Nigeria reached the Cup of Nations final, losing both times to Cameroon. Three of the four African titles won by Cameroon have been won by defeating Nigeria. Missing out to Cameroon on many occasions has created an intense rivalry between both nations. Two notable occasions; narrowly losing out on qualification for 1990 World Cup and then the controversial final of the 2000 African Nations Cup where a goal scored by Victor Ikpeba during a penalty shoot out was disallowed by the referee.
In 1994 Nigeria finally reached the World Cup for the first time in the FIFA World Cup. They were managed by Clemens Westerhof who is commonly considered to be the best coach to have ever led Nigeria. Nigeria topped their group which included Argentina, Bulgaria, and Greece. In their first game Nigeria defeated Bulgaria 3-0, lost to Argentina 1-2, and qualified for the second round after a 2-0 victory over Greece.
In 1998 Nigeria returned to the World Cup alongside Cameroon, Morocco, Tunisia, and South Africa. Optimism was high due to their manager Bora Milutinovc and the return of most 1994 squad members. In the final tournament Nigeria were drawn into group D with Spain, Bulgaria, Paraguay. Nigeria scored a major upset by defeating Spain 3-2 after coming back twice from being 1-0 and 2-1 down. The Eagles qualified for the second round with win against Bulgaria and loss to Paraguay.
The 2002 FIFA World Cup in Korea and Japan, saw Nigeria again qualify with optimism. With a new squad and distinctive pastel green kits the Super Eagles were expected to build on their strong performances in the 2000 and 2002 African Cup of Nations. Nigeria were drawn into group F with powerhouses Sweden, Argentina, and England. They started their first game against Argentina with a strong defence and kept the first half scoreless. However in the 61st minute Gabriel Batistuta breached the Nigerian defense to put Argentina in the lead 1-0 and win the game. Nigeria's second game against Sweden saw them take the lead but later lose 2-1. There was little consolation when Nigeria drew 0-0 with England and bowed out in the first round.
Nigeria missed out on qualification for the 2006 World Cup after finishing level on points in the qualification group with Angola, but having an inferior record in the matches between the sides.On 14 November, 2009, Nigeria qualified for the 2010 World Cup after defeating Kenya by 3-2 in Nairobi.Achievements :
* African Cup of Nations (2) : 1980, 1994
* All-Africa Games (1) : 1973
* Afro-Asian Cup of Nations (1) : 1995
* CEDEAO Cup (1) : 1990
* Olympic Games Gold (1) : Atlanta 1996
* Olympic Games Silver (1) : Beijing 2008
Player
List of Nigeria's top ten international goalscorers :
Player name | Goal scored |
Rashidi Yekini | 37 |
Segun Odegbami | 23 |
Yakubu Aiyegbeni | 19 |
Sunday Oyarekhua | 17 |
Obafemi Martins | 16 |
Daniel Amokachi | 14 |
Jay-Jay Okocha | 14 |
Julius Aghahowa | 14 |
Nwankwo Kanu | 13 |
Samson Siasia | 13 |
