Nigerian national soccer team

This article deals with the Nigerian national soccer team for men , for the national team for women see Nigerian national soccer team for women , for the U-20 team see Nigerian national soccer team (U-20 men) .

Nigeria
Federal Republic of Nigeria

Nickname (s)	Super Eagles Super Eagles
Association	Nigeria Football Federation
confederacy	CAF
Technical sponsor	Nike
Head coach	Gernot Rohr (since 2016)
captain	John Obi Mikel
Record scorer	Rashidi Yekini (37)
Record player	Vincent Enyeama and Joseph Yobo (101 each)
Home stadium	Godswill Akpabio International Stadium (since November 2014)
FIFA code	NGA
FIFA rank	31st (1493 points) (as of July 16, 2020)
First jersey Second jersey
statistics
First international game Sierra Leone 0-2 Nigeria ( Sierra Leone ; 10 August 1949)
Biggest win Nigeria 8-1 Uganda ( Ismailia , Egypt ; 23 Sep 1991)
Biggest defeat Ghana 7-0 Nigeria ( Accra , Ghana ; June 1, 1955)
Successes in tournaments
World Championship
Participation in the finals	6 ( first : 1994 )
Best results	Round of 16 in 1994, 1998 and 2014
African Championship
Participation in the finals	18 ( first : 1963 )
Best results	African champions 1980, 1994, 2013
(As of November 12, 2016)

The Nigerian national soccer team is one of the most successful African national soccer teams. The team, also known as Super Eagles , reached the round of 16 of a soccer world championship three times, won the African championship three times and became Olympic champion in 1996 .

The beginnings of organized football in Nigeria cannot be precisely traced. When the Nigeria Football Federation was founded in 1945 , there were already a few club teams and tournaments in the country, some of which could look back on a longer tradition.

Nigeria is said to have played a game in Sierra Leone as early as 1949 and in the 1950s Nigeria played several games against the Gold Coast , later Ghana , which FIFA did not recognize as official internationals, as all of them were still British colonies at the time .

When the country became independent in 1960, the NFA was already a member of FIFA and the African Football Association . On August 28, 1960, Nigeria's first international match recognized by FIFA took place. Ghana lost 4-1 in Accra . In the 1970s, the city of Lagos allegedly already had more football clubs than all of East Africa put together, but it wasn't until the national team's first major success: in 1980 the Nigerians won the Africa Cup in front of an enthusiastic home crowd in Lagos.

The team, whose youth selection is even more successful, was able to achieve lasting success under coach Clemens Westerhof .

Trainer

1949	John Finch	1954-1956	Elliot Williams	1956-1960	Les Courtier	1960-1961	Dominic Taylor	1961-1963	George Vardar	1963-1964	Joey Blackwell
1964-1965	Daniel Anyiam	1965-1968	József Ember	1969-1970	Peter "Eto" Amaechina	1970-1971	Karl-Heinz Marotzke	1972-1973	Jorge Penna	1974	Karl-Heinz Marotzke
1974-1988	Tihomir "Tiki" Jelisavčić	1979-1981	Otto Glória	1981	Gottlieb Göller	1983-1984	Festus Onigbinde	1984-1985	Chris Udemezue	1985-1986	Patrick Ekeji
1987-1988	Paul Hamilton	1988-1989	Manfred Hoener	1989-1994	Clemens Westerhof	1994-1995	Shaibu Amodu	1995-1996	Jo Bonfrere	1996-1997	Shaibu Amodu
1997	Philippe Troussier	1997-1998	Monday Sinclair	1998	Bora Milutinović	1999	Thijs Libregts	1999-2001	Jo Bonfrere	2001-2002	Shaibu Amodu
2002	Festus Onigbinde	2002-2005	Christian Chukwu	2005-2007	Augustine Eguavoen	2007-2008	Berti Vogts	2008	James Peters	2008-2010	Shaibu Amodu
2010	Lars Lagerbäck	2010	Augustine Eguavoen	2010-2011	Samson Siasia	2011-2014	Stephen Keshi	2014	Shaibu Amodu	2014	Stephen Keshi
2014-2015	Daniel Amokachi	2015	Stephen Keshi	2015	Shaibu Amodu (interim)	2015-2016	Sunday Oliseh	2016	Paul Le Guen	2016–	Gernot pipe

Tournaments

Olympic games

1960 in Rome	not qualified
1964 in Tokyo	not qualified

After 1964, the senior national team no longer took part in the Olympic Games and the qualifying games. The Olympic team took part in 1968 , 1980 (replacing Egypt), 1988 , 1996 (Olympic champion), 2000 (quarter-finals) and 2008 (runner-up). In 1976 Nigeria boycotted the games together with other African teams after successfully qualifying.

World Championship

→ Main article : Nigerian national soccer team / World Cups

year	Host country	Participation until ...	Last opponent	Result	Trainer	Comments and special features
1930	Uruguay	not participated				Not an independent state
1934	Italy	not participated				Not an independent state
1938	France	not participated				Not an independent state
1950	Brazil	not participated				Not an independent state
1954	Switzerland	not participated				Not an independent state
1958	Sweden	not participated				Not an independent state
1962	Chile	not qualified				In the qualification of Ghana failed, but that could not qualify well.
1966	England	withdrawn				All 15 African teams withdrew from the qualification as FIFA only allowed the teams from Africa, Asia and Oceania one place in the final round.
1970	Mexico	not qualified				In the qualification in the final at Morocco failed.
1974	Germany	not qualified				In the qualification in the second round, Ghana failed again , but they also failed to qualify.
1978	Argentina	not qualified				In the qualification in the 4th round to Tunisia failed.
1982	Spain	not qualified				In the qualification in the 4th round to Algeria failed.
1986	Mexico	not qualified				In the qualification in the semifinals, Tunisia failed again , but they also failed to qualify.
1990	Italy	not qualified				In the qualification in the 2nd round to Cameroon failed.
1994	United States	Round of 16	Italy	9.	Clemens Westerhof	Defeat in extra time
1998	France	Round of 16	Denmark	12.	Bora Milutinović
2002	South Korea / Japan	Preliminary round	Argentina , Sweden , England	27.	Adegboye Onigbinde	Eliminated as last group
2006	Germany	not qualified				In the qualification in the second round of Angola failed.
2010	South Africa	Preliminary round	Argentina , Greece , South Korea	27.	Lars Lagerbäck	Eliminated as last group
2014	Brazil	Round of 16	France		Stephen Keshi	In the qualification , Nigeria first met Malawi , Kenya and Namibia . With a 2-0 win on the last day of the match against their direct rivals Malawi for group victory, Nigeria secured a place in the final qualifying round, in which Nigeria became the first African team to qualify for the 2014 World Cup against Ethiopia . As in 1994, 2002 and 2010, Nigeria met Argentina in the group stage of the finals and, for the first time at a World Cup, they faced Bosnia-Herzegovina and Iran.
2018	Russia	Preliminary round	Croatia , Iceland , Argentina		Gernot pipe	In qualifying , Nigeria prevailed against Swaziland in the second round and then against Algeria, Cameroon and Zambia in the third round . At the World Cup in Russia, the team lost to Croatia at the beginning. Then you got every chance of the round of 16 with a 2-0 win against Iceland. In the last group game against Argentina, a goal in the 86th minute cost the Super Eagles progress.

African Championship

1957 in Sudan	no participation
1959 in Egypt	no participation
1962 in Ethiopia	withdrawn
1963 in Ghana	Preliminary round
1965 in Tunisia	no participation
1968 in Ethiopia	not qualified
1970 in Sudan	withdrawn
1972 in Cameroon	not qualified
1974 in Egypt	not qualified
1976 in Ethiopia	3rd place
1978 in Ghana	3rd place
1980 in Nigeria	African champions
1982 in Libya	Preliminary round
1984 in Ivory Coast	2nd place
1986 in Egypt	not qualified
1988 in Morocco	2nd place
1990 in Algeria	2nd place
1992 in Senegal	Quarter finals
1994 in Tunisia	African champions
1996 in South Africa	withdrawn
1998 in Burkina Faso	not admitted due to withdrawal in 1996
2000 in Ghana / Nigeria	2nd place
2002 in Mali	3rd place
2004 in Tunisia	3rd place
2006 in Egypt	3rd place
2008 in Ghana	Quarter finals
2010 in Angola	3rd place
2012 in Gabon and Equatorial Guinea	not qualified
2013 in South Africa	African champions
2015 in Equatorial Guinea	not qualified
2017 in Gabon	not qualified
2019 in Egypt	3rd place

African Nations Championship

→ Main article : African Nations Cup

Only players who play in the national championships of their home countries are eligible to play in this championship. The games are classified as friendlies by FIFA, such as B. 2014, or not counted.

• 2009 : not qualified
• 2011 : not qualified
• 2014 : third
• 2016 : preliminary round
• 2018 : second
• 2020 : not qualified

Record player

(As of November 17, 2019)

Games	player	position	Period	Gates	World Cup games	AM games
101	Vincent Enyeama	goal	2002–	0	8th	24
101	Joseph Yobo	Defense	2001-2014	7th	10	29
91	Ahmed Musa	attack	2010–	17th	7th	12
90	John Obi Mikel	midfield	2005–	6th	7th	22nd
86	Nwankwo canoe	attack	1994-2011	13	6th	27
86 (82)	Mudashiru Lawal	midfield	1975-1985	11	0	4th
73	Jay-Jay Okocha	midfield	1993-2006	14th	9	22nd
68 (56)	Stephen Keshi	Defense	1981-1994	12	1	16
66 (59)	Peter Rufai	goal	1991-1998	1	8th	12
65	Peter Odemwingie	attack	2002–	11	6th	16
62	Elderson Echiéjilé	Defense	2009-	3	2	10
62	Finidi George	midfield	1991-2002	6th	8th	20th
62 (58)	Rashidi Yekini	attack	1983-1998	37	8th	24
59 (57)	Emmanuel Okala	goal	1972-1980	0	0	5

1. ↑ Incl. Games and goals in qualifying matches for the Olympic Games and the Olympic Games that are not taken into account by FIFA. (Matches and goals recognized by FIFA in brackets, if different.)

Gates	player	Period	Games	World Cup goals	AM gates
37	Rashidi Yekini	1983-1998	62	1	13
22nd	Segun Odegbami	1976-1981	47		6th
21st	Yakubu Aiyegbeni	2000-2012	58	1	4th
19th	Ikechukwu Uche	2007–	46		0
18th	Obafemi Martins	2004-2013	42	0	3
17 (13)	Samson Siasia	1984-1998	49 (46)	1	1
17th	Ahmed Musa	2010–	91	4th	1
16	Odion Ighalo	2015-	35	0	5
14th	Julius Aghahowa	2000-2007	31	1	6th
14th	Asuqo Ekpe	1960-1965	?		?
14th	Jay-Jay Okocha	1993-2006	73	0	7th
14th	Thompson Usiyen	1976-1981	?		?

1. ↑ Top scorer of the Africa Cup 2019 with 5 goals

Other well-known players

• Sam Ibiam - the first Nigerian international goalkeeper
• Victor Agali
• Yakubu Aiyegbeni
• Benedict Akwuegbu
• Daniel Amokachi
• Emmanuel Amunike
• Tijani Babangida
• Celestine Babayaro
• Emmanuel Emenike
• Victor Ikpeba
• Stephen Ayodele Makinwa
• Obinna Nwaneri
• Uche Okechukwu
• Victor Nsofor Obinna
• Chinedu Obasi
• Sunday Oliseh
• Ike Shorunmu
• John Utaka
• Taribo West
• Kelechi Iheanacho

International matches against German-speaking national soccer teams

→ Main article : List of the internationals of the Nigerian national soccer team

	date	place	Home team	result	Visiting team
1.	04/22/1998	Cologne	Germany	1-0	Nigeria
2.	11/20/2007	Zurich	Switzerland	0: 1	Nigeria
3.	05/27/2008	Graz	Austria	1: 1	Nigeria

So far there has been no international match against Luxembourg and Liechtenstein.

Suspension and dissolution

The Confederation of African Football (CAF) banned Nigeria for two years after the Nigerian military dictator Sani Abacha caused the team to withdraw from the 1996 African Football Championship after Nelson Mandela criticized Abacha for sentencing political opponents to death. Nigeria could not play within the CAF for two years but was approved by FIFA to qualify for the 1998 World Cup in France.

On June 30, 2010 the Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan withdrew the Nigerian national soccer team from all international tournaments for two years and announced restructuring of the NFF association in order to be able to build a new team in peace. Such interference by politics in football usually results in the association being suspended by FIFA on the basis of the FIFA Statutes. Shortly before the end of the FIFA ultimatum on July 5, 2010, the Nigerian President lifted his suspension for the national teams and the dissolution of the association.

Others

• On January 1, 1960, Nigeria was not allowed to play in the traditional scarlet jerseys for the first time in the international match against Egypt . The national team then played in green. Despite a 3-0 defeat, the “Red Devils” became the “Green Eagles” (today “Super Eagles”).
• On March 1, 2007, the former German national coach Berti Vogts took over the office of national coach. Thomas Häßler acted as assistant and Uli Stein as goalkeeping coach . Vogts was the fourth German who had coached the Nigerian national team, he was preceded by Karl-Heinz Marotzke (1970-1971 and 1974), Gottlieb Göller (1981) and Manfred Hoener (1988-1989). After quarrels and the quarter-finals at the Africa Cup 2008 , Berti Vogts and his coaching team resigned on February 20, 2008.
• On November 19, 2008 Nigeria played an international match against Colombia, but no goalkeeper, with the exception of Austin Ejide, received an entry visa. So without further ado, Ngemba Evans Obi from SV Heimstetten II had to step in as a substitute goalkeeper because it seemed hopeless to obtain a visa for a player who was not active in Europe.

See also

• Nigerian National Football Team (U-17 Juniors)
• Nigerian National Football Team (U-20 Men)

Web links

Commons : Nigerian National Soccer Team  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

• Results since 1955
• FIFA.com

Individual evidence

1. ↑ The FIFA / Coca-Cola World Ranking. In: fifa.com. July 16, 2020, accessed July 21, 2020 . 
2. ↑ rsssf.com
3. ↑ rsssf.com
4. ↑ The placements from 5th place onwards were determined by FIFA without any placement games. See: All-time FIFA World Cup Ranking 1930-2010 (PDF; 200 kB)
5. ↑ rsssf.com: Nigeria - Record International Players
6. ↑ Nigeria president suspends national team . In: The Globe and Mail , June 30, 2010, accessed July 7, 2010.
7. ↑ Nigeria's president punishes national team draconian . In: Die Zeit , July 1, 2010.
8. ^ World Cup 2010: Nigerian president lifts ban on team . In: BBC Online , July 5, 2010.