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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 22nd and holds the third highest place among the African nations behind Cameroon (11th) and Côte d'Ivoire (16th). The highest position ever reached on the ranking was 5th in April 1994.
[edit] HistoryNigeria played their first unofficial 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. [edit] 1994 World CupNigeria 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. 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. [edit] 1998 World CupIn 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] 2002 World CupThe 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.[2] [edit] African Nations CupNigeria 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, and the 2006 African Nations Cup. [edit] Achievements
[edit] World Cup record
[edit] Confederations Cup record
[edit] African Cup of Nations record
[edit] Current squadThe following players were called in for the World Cup qualifier against Kenya on November 14 2009. Caps/goals correct as of November 14 2009
[edit] Recent call-ups
[edit] ManagersTeam managers of Nigeria and the dates they took over.
[edit] Top goalscorersList of Nigeria's top ten highest ever international goalscorers.
[edit] Recent results (last 15 months)
[edit] Friendly matches
[edit] References
[edit] External links
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