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 21st and holds the third highest place among the African nations behind Egypt (12th) and Cameroon (19th). Their highest position ever reached on the ranking was 5th in April 1994.

History

After playing other colonies in unofficial games since the 1930s^[2], Nigeria played their first official game in October 1949, 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 to follow. 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^{[citation needed]}.

1994 World Cup

Nigeria finally reached the World Cup for the first time in the 1994 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^{[citation needed]}. 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 the second round Nigeria played Italy and took the lead with a goal from Amunike at 25 min. Nigeria were within one minute of qualifying for the Quarter finals of 1994 World Cup in the game against Italy but Roberto Baggio scored to take the game to extra time. He also scored the eventual winning goal^{[citation needed]}.

1998 World Cup

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^{[citation needed]}. Their hopes of surpassing their 1994 performance was shattered after a 4-1 loss to Denmark.

2002 World Cup

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^{[citation needed]}. 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^{[citation needed]}.
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^{[citation needed]}.

2010 World Cup

On 14 November, 2009, Nigeria qualified for the 2010 World Cup after defeating Kenya by 3-2 in Nairobi.^[3]

African Nations Cup

Nigeria won the African Nations Cup twice (1980 and 1994). More recently they took third place at the 2002 African Nations Cup, the 2004 African Nations Cup, the 2006 African Nations Cup, and the 2010 African Nations Cup.

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^[1]

• Olympic Games Silver: 1
  

Beijing 2008^[1]

• World team of the year: 1
  

1996

World Cup record

Year	Round	Position	GP	W	D*	L	GS	GA
1930 to 1958	Did not enter
1962	Did not qualify
1966	Withdrew
1970 to 1990	Did not qualify
1994	Round of 16	9	4	2	0	2	7	4
1998	Round of 16	12	4	2	0	2	6	9
2002	Round 1	27	3	0	1	2	1	3
2006	Did not qualify
2010	Qualified
Total	3/18		11	4	1	6	14	16

Confederations Cup record

Year	Round	GP	W	D*	L	GS	GA
1992	Did not qualify
1995	Fourth place	3	1	2	0	4	1
1997 to 2009	Did not qualify
Total	1/8	3	1	2	0	4	1

African Cup of Nations record

African Cup of Nations
Titles: 2 Appearances: 16
Year	Position		Year	Position		Year	Position
1957	Did not enter		1976	Third place		1994	Champions
1959	Did not enter		1978	Third place		1996	Withdrew from tournament
1962	Withdrew from tournament		1980	Champions		1998	Disqualified for failure to participate in 1996
1963	Round 1		1982	Round 1		2000	Second place
1965	Did not qualify		1984	Second place		2002	Third place
1968	Did not qualify		1986	Did not qualify		2004	Third place
1970	Did not qualify		1988	Second place		2006	Third place
1972	Did not qualify		1990	Second place		2008	Quarter-finals
1974	Did not qualify		1992	Third place		2010	Third place

2010 FIFA World Cup/African Cup of Nations

Qualification

Main article: 2010 FIFA World Cup

Main article: 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification (CAF)

2010 World Cup/African Cup of Nations: 2nd Round
Group 4

Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Nigeria 6 6 0 0 11 1 +10 18 South Africa 6 2 1 3 5 5 0 7 Sierra Leone 6 2 1 3 4 8 −4 7 Equatorial Guinea 6 1 0 5 4 10 −6 3

Equatorial Guinea	—	0 – 1	2 – 0	0 – 1
Nigeria	2 – 0	—	4 – 1	2 – 0
Sierra Leone	2 – 1	0 – 1	—	1 – 0
South Africa	4 – 1	0 – 1	0 – 0	—

Notes on the tie-breaking situation:

• South Africa and Sierra Leone are ranked by their overall goal difference.

Note: South Africa were automatically qualified as hosts of the 2010 FIFA World Cup. However, they were subject to the same rules as other nations for continuation to the next stage of the qualifiers. Failure to advance from this group eliminated them from the qualifiers for the 2010 African Cup of Nations.

2010 World Cup/African Cup of Nations: 3rd Round
Group B

Team v • d • e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
Nigeria	6	3	3	0	9	4	+5	12
Tunisia	6	3	2	1	7	4	+3	11
Mozambique	6	2	1	3	3	5	−2	7
Kenya	6	1	0	5	5	11	−6	3

Kenya	—	2 – 1	2 – 3	1 – 2
Mozambique	1 – 0	—	0 – 0	1 – 0
Nigeria	3 – 0	1 – 0	—	2 – 2
Tunisia	1 – 0	2 – 0	0 – 0	—

Legend
Countries that qualified for the 2010 World Cup and 2010 African Cup of Nations
Countries that qualified for the 2010 African Cup of Nations

2010 African Cup of Nations
Group C

Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
Egypt	3	3	0	0	7	1	+6	9
Nigeria	3	2	0	1	5	3	+2	6
Benin	3	0	1	2	2	5	−3	1
Mozambique	3	0	1	2	2	7	−5	1

Recent results and forthcoming fixtures

Matches

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2010-03-03	Nigeria	5 – 2	Congo DR	Abuja Stadium, Abuja

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2010-05-25	Nigeria	0 – 0	Saudi Arabia	Alpenstadion, Wattens, Austria

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2010-05-30	Nigeria	1 - 1	Colombia	Stadium:mk, Milton Keynes, England Attendance: 0
	Lukman 70'	Report	Valdez 22'

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2010-06-06	Nigeria	v	Korea DPR	Makhulong Stadium Johannesburg, South Africa

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FIFA World Cup 2010

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2010-06-12 16:00 UTC+2	Argentina	v	Nigeria	Ellis Park Stadium, Johannesburg

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2010-06-17 16:00 UTC+2	Greece	v	Nigeria	Free State Stadium, Bloemfontein

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2010-06-22 20:30 UTC+2	Nigeria	v	Korea Republic	Moses Mabhida Stadium, Durban

Team v • d • e Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Argentina 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Nigeria 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Korea Republic 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Greece 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

Current squad

The following players were called in for the 2010 FIFA World Cup. Caps/goals correct as of May 30 2010

No. Pos. Player DoB (Age) Caps Goals Club 1 GK Vincent Enyeama 29 August 1982 (1982-08-29) (age 27) 52 0 Hapoel Tel Aviv 16 GK Austin Ejide 8 April 1984 (1984-04-08) (age 26) 17 0 Hapoel Petah Tikva 23 GK Dele Aiyenugba 20 November 1983 (1983-11-20) (age 26) 9 0 Bnei Yehuda 2 DF Joseph Yobo 6 September 1980 (1980-09-06) (age 29) 65 4 Everton 3 DF Taye Taiwo 16 April 1985 (1985-04-16) (age 25) 36 7 Marseille 6 DF Danny Shittu 2 September 1980 (1980-09-02) (age 29) 24 0 Bolton Wanderers 17 DF Chidi Odiah 17 December 1983 (1983-12-17) (age 26) 23 1 CSKA Moscow 5 DF Rabiu Afolabi 18 April 1980 (1980-04-18) (age 30) 21 1 Red Bull Salzburg 21 DF Uwa Elderson Echiéjilé 20 January 1988 (1988-01-20) (age 22) 10 0 Rennes 15 DF Dele Adeleye 25 December 1988 (1988-12-25) (age 21) 6 0 Sparta Rotterdam 10 MF Mikel John Obi 22 April 1987 (1987-04-22) (age 23) 34 2 Chelsea 13 MF Ayila Yussuf 4 November 1984 (1984-11-04) (age 25) 26 2 Dynamo Kyiv 12 MF Kalu Uche 15 November 1982 (1982-11-15) (age 27) 20 2 Almería 14 MF Sani Kaita 2 May 1986 (1986-05-02) (age 24) 18 0 Alania Vladikavkaz 20 MF Dickson Etuhu 8 June 1982 (1982-06-08) (age 27) 12 0 Fulham 19 MF Lukman Haruna 12 April 1990 (1990-04-12) (age 20) 3 1 Monaco 11 MF Peter Odemwingie 15 July 1981 (1981-07-15) (age 28) 44 8 Lokomotiv Moscow 7 MF Chinedu Obasi 1 June 1986 (1986-06-01) (age 24) 23 4 Hoffenheim 4 FW Nwankwo Kanu 1 August 1976 (1976-08-01) (age 33) 82 13 Portsmouth 8 FW Yakubu Aiyegbeni 22 November 1982 (1982-11-22) (age 27) 51 19 Everton 22 FW John Utaka 8 January 1982 (1982-01-08) (age 28) 43 6 Portsmouth 18 FW Victor Obinna 25 March 1987 (1987-03-25) (age 23) 31 10 Málaga 9 FW Obafemi Martins 28 October 1984 (1984-10-28) (age 25) 30 16 Wolfsburg

Recent call-ups

No. Pos. Player DoB (Age) Caps Goals Club GK Ngemba Evans Obi (Friendly v. Colombia, 22 November 2008) 7 July 1984 (1984-07-07) (age 25) 0 Fürstenfeldbruck II[4] DF Efe Ambrose (Friendly v. Sudan, 9 January 2008) 18 October 1988 (1988-10-18) (age 21) 1 0 Kaduna United DF Kingsley Udoh (Friendly v. Sudan, 9 January 2008) 7 December 1990 (1990-12-07) (age 19) 1 0 Akwa United FW Stephen Makinwa (Africa Nations Cup 2008) 26 July 1983 (1983-07-26) (age 26) 16 1 Lazio FW Kayode Odejayi (Friendly v. Austria, 27 May 2008) 21 February 1982 (1982-02-21) (age 28) 1 0 Colchester United MF Paul Obiefule (Friendly v. Jamaica, 11 February 2009) 15 May 1986 (1986-05-15) (age 24) 10 0 Hønefoss DF Yusuf Mohamed (Africa Nations Cup 2010) 5 November 1983 (1983-11-05) (age 26) 12 0 Sion DF Obinna Nwaneri (Africa Nations Cup 2010) 18 March 1982 (1982-03-18) (age 28) 34 1 Sion DF Chibuzor Okonkwo (Friendly v. Congo DR, March 3) 16 December 1988 (1988-12-16) (age 21) 1 0 Bayelsa United FW Bello Musa Kofarmata (Friendly v. Congo DR, March 3) 12 May 1988 (1988-05-12) (age 22) 1 0 Heartland F.C. GK Segun Oluwaniyi (Friendly v. Congo DR, March 3) 24 April 1982 (1982-04-24) (age 28) 1 0 Shooting Stars FC MF Isiaka Olawale (Friendly v. Congo DR, March 3) 11 November 1983 (1983-11-11) (age 26) 8 0 Kwara United FW Osas Idehen (Friendly v. Congo DR, March 3) 13 May 1990 (1990-05-13) (age 20) 1 2 Enyimba FW Thankgod Amaefule (Friendly v. Congo DR, March 3) 16 December 1984 (1984-12-16) (age 25) 1 0 Sharks F.C. DF Thankgod Ikechukwu (Friendly v. Congo DR, March 3) 13 September 1985 (1985-09-13) (age 24) 1 0 Heartland F.C. MF Chinedu Ezimora (Friendly v. Congo DR, March 3) 6 March 1983 (1983-03-06) (age 27) 1 0 Nasarawa United F.C. FW Uche Nwofor (Friendly v. Congo DR, March 3) 28 February 1989 (1989-02-28) (age 21) 1 0 Shooting Stars F.C. GK Bassey Akpan (Friendly v. Congo DR, March 3) 6 January 1984 (1984-01-06) (age 26) 1 0 Bayelsa United DF Terna Suswam (Friendly v. Saudi Arabia, 25 May 2010) 5 September 1991 (1991-09-05) (age 18) 1 0 Lobi Stars F.C. FW Ikechukwu Uche (Friendly v. Colombia, 30 May 2010) 5 January 1984 (1984-01-05) (age 26) 24 6 Real Zaragoza FW Peter Utaka (Friendly v. Saudi Arabia, 25 May 2010) 12 February 1984 (1984-02-12) (age 26) 2 1 OB FW Victor Anichebe (Friendly v. Saudi Arabia, 25 May 2010) 23 April 1988 (1988-04-23) (age 22) 5 0 Everton DF Onyekachi Apam 30 December 1986 (1986-12-30) (age 23) 13 0 Nice FW Michael Eneramo 26 November 1985 (1985-11-26) (age 24) 8 2 Espérance FW Joseph Akpala 24 August 1986 (1986-08-24) (age 23) 2 1 Club Brugge GK Greg Etafia 30 September 1982 (1982-09-30) (age 27) 3 0 Moroka Swallows DF Sam Sodje 25 May 1979 (1979-05-25) (age 31) 4 0 Charlton Athletic DF Olubayo Adefemi 13 August 1985 (1985-08-13) (age 24) 4 0 Boulogne MF Seyi Olofinjana 30 June 1980 (1980-06-30) (age 29) 41 0 Hull City MF Sone Aluko 19 February 1989 (1989-02-19) (age 21) 1 0 Aberdeen MF Femi Ajilore 18 January 1985 (1985-01-18) (age 25) 4 0 Groningen MF Onyekachi Okonkwo 13 May 1982 (1982-05-13) (age 28) 9 0 Zürich MF Ikechukwu Ibenegbu 22 February 1986 (1986-02-22) (age 24) 0 0 Heartland F.C.

Managers

Team managers of Nigeria and the dates they took over.

Date appointed	Manager name
2010–	Lars Lagerbäck
2008–2010	Shaibu Amodu
2008	James Peters
2007–2008	Berti Vogts
2005–2007	Augustine Eguavoen
2002–2005	Christian Chukwu
2002	Adegboyega Onigbinde
2001–2002	Shaibu Amodu
1999–2001	Johannes Bonfrere
1999–1999	Thijs Libregts
1998–1998	Bora Milutinović
1997–1998	Monday Sinclar
1997–1998	Philippe Troussier
1996–1997	Shaibu Amodu
1995–1996	Johannes Bonfere
1994–1995	Shaibu Amodu
1989–1994	Clemens Westerhof
1987–1989	Paul Hamilton
1988–1989	Manfred Hoener
1985	Patrick Ekeji
1984–1986	Chris Udemezue
1983–1984	Adegboyega Onigbinde
1981	Gottlieb Goller
1979–1982	Otto Gloria
1970–1971 & 1974	Heinz Marotze
1974–1978	Jelisavčić 'Tiki' Tihomir
1972–1973 1963–1964	George Penna
1969–1970	Peter 'Eto' Amaechina
1965–1968	Joseph Ember
1964–1965	Daniel Anyiam
1961–1963	George Vardar
1960–1961	Moshe Beth-Halevi
1956–1960	Les Courtier
1954–1956	Daniel Anyiam
1949	John Finch

Top goal scorers

List of Nigeria's top ten highest ever international goalscorers. Players in bold still eligible for selection.

Goal scored	Player name
37	Rashidi Yekini
23	Segun Odegbami
19	Yakubu Aiyegbeni
17	Sunday Oyarekhua
16	Obafemi Martins
14	Daniel Amokachi
14	Jay-Jay Okocha
14	Julius Aghahowa
13	Nwankwo Kanu
13	Samson Siasia

References

1. ^ ^{a b c} In the era of Nigeria's Olympic successes, the tournament has been restricted to squads with no more than three players over 23 years of age, and these matches are not usually regarded as part of the national team's record
2. ^ http://www.tribune.com.ng/27122009/news/sports7.html Nigeria's First Football Captain
3. ^ "Kenya 2 - 3 Nigeria". ESPN. 2009-11-14. http://soccernet.espn.go.com/report?id=262945&cc=5739. Retrieved 2009-11-14.
4. ^ [1]

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