Nigeria national football team
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| Nickname(s) | Super Eagles | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Association | Nigeria Football Association | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Confederation | CAF (Africa) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Head coach |  Shaibu Amodu |
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| Captain | Nwankwo Kanu | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Most caps | Nwankwo Kanu (74) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Top scorer | Rashidi Yekini (37) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Home stadium | Abuja Stadium | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| FIFA code | NGA | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| FIFA ranking | 19 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Highest FIFA ranking | 5 (April 1994) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Lowest FIFA ranking | 82 (November 1999) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Elo ranking | 32 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Highest Elo ranking | 14 (31 May 2004) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Lowest Elo ranking | 87 (27 December 1964) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| First international | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 Nigeria 2 - 0 Sierra Leone  (Lagos, Nigeria; 8 October 1949) |
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| Biggest win | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Nigeria 10 - 1 Dahomey  (Lagos, Nigeria; 28 November 1959) |
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| Biggest defeat | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 Gold Coast 7 - 0 Nigeria (Accra, Ghana; 1 June 1955) |
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| World Cup | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Appearances | 3 (First in 1994) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Best result | Round 2, 1994 and 1998 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| African Nations Cup | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Appearances | 15 (First in 1963) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Best result | Winners, 1980 and 1994 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Confederations Cup | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Appearances | 1 (First in 1995) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Best result | 4th, 1995 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Olympic medal record | |||
| Men’s Football[1] | |||
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| Gold | 1996 Atlanta | Team | |
| Silver | 2008 Beijing | 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 FIFA's rankings, Nigeria, at 19th, are currently the second best team in the African continent, behind Cameroon (14th). The highest position ever reached on the ranking was 5th in April 1994.
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[edit] History
Nigeria played their first game in October 1949, whilst still a British colony. The team played warmup games in England against various amateur teams like Dulwich Hamlet, Bishop Auckland F.C. 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 the Tunji Banjo, and the 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.
[edit] World Cup 1994
Nigeria reached the World Cup for the first time in Football World Cup 1994.They were managed by Clemens Westerhof who is commonly considered to be the best coach to have ever lead Nigeria. Nigeria topped their group which included Argentina, Bulgaria, and Greece. In their first game Nigeria defeated Bulgaria 3-0, lost to Argentina 2-1, and qualified for the second round after a 2-0 defeat of 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.
[edit] World Cup 1998
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. Their hopes of surpassing their 1994 performance was shattered after a 4-1 loss to Denmark.
[edit] World Cup 2002
The 2002 FIFA World Cup in Korea, 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 to Angola. Both teams finished level on points in the group but Nigeria even with a greater goal difference missed out due to their inferior head to head record against Angola. Nigeria won the African Nations Cup twice (1980 and 1994).
[edit] Nigeria Football Achievements
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- 1980, 1994
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- 1973
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- 1995
- CEDEAO Cup: 1
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- 1990
- Olympic Games Gold: 1
- Olympic Games Silver: 1
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- 1983, 1985, 1987, 1989, 2005
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- 2001, 2007
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- 1985, 1993, 2007
[edit] World Cup record
- 1930 to 1958 - Did not participate
- 1962 - Did not qualify
- 1966 - Withdrew to protest the allocation of spots.
- 1970 to 1990 - Did not qualify
- 1994 - Round 2
- 1998 - Round 2
- 2002 - Round 1
- 2006 - Did not qualify
[edit] African Cup of Nations record
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[edit] Current squad
The following players were called for the Friendly game against Colombia on November 20, 2008 [1].
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[edit] Recent call-ups
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[edit] Famous players
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1970s - 1980s - 1990s - |
2000s - |
[edit] Manager history
Team managers of Nigeria and the dates they took over.
| Date appointed | Manager name |
|---|---|
| 2008 | 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 |
[edit] Top 10 Goalscorers
List of Nigeria's top ten highest ever international goalscorers.
| Goal scored | Player name |
|---|---|
| 37 | Rashidi Yekini |
| 24 | Segun Odegbami |
| 17 | Sunday Oyarekhua |
| 17 | Yakubu |
| 16 | Samson Siasia |
| 15 | Thompson Usiyan |
| 14 | Daniel Amokachi |
| 14 | Jay-Jay Okocha |
| 14 | Julius Aghahowa |
| 13 | Nwankwo Kanu |
| 13 | Obafemi Martins |
[edit] Recent results
- 2010 African Cup of Nations Qualifying Group 4:
Nigeria 2 v 0 
, 1 June 2008
Sierra Leone 0 v 1 Nigeria, 7 June 2008
Equatorial Guinea 0 v 1 Nigeria, 15 June 2008- Nigeria 2 v 0 Equatorial Guinea, 21 June 2008
- South Africa 0 v 1 Nigeria, 5 September 2008
- Nigeria 4 v 1 Sierra Leone, 11 October 2008
[edit] Friendly Matches:
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- Nigeria 5 - 1
Australia, 17 November 2007 - Nigeria 1 - 0
Switzerland, November 20, 2007 - Nigeria 2 - 0
Sudan, 9 January 2008 - Nigeria 1 - 1
Austria, 28 May 2008
[edit] External links
- Nigeria Football Association
- KickOffNigeria.com - A Nigerian football magazine
- cybereagles.com - An online forum for discussing all things Nigerian football
- 2dramatv Video page on youtube - Watch Nigeria football higlights
- Complete Sports Online
- RSSSF archive of results 1955-
- Nigerian Football Statistics and Articles
- Nigerian Football Online
- Onyedikachi Says
