Group B
Coach: Lars Lagerback
Star Player : Chinedu Obasi
Best result: 2nd round (1994, 1998)
All-time record: 11 games played, 4 wins, 1 draw, 6 losses
Goals for: 14, Goals against: 16
Biggest victory: 3-0 vs. Bulgaria in 1994
Biggest defeat: 4-1 vs. Denmark in 1998
Top scorer: Daniel Amokachi and Emmanuel Amunike (2 goals)
Most appearances: Jay-Jay Okocha (nine matches)
Hosted the World Cup: Never
LIVE STREAM NIGERIA MATCHES :
June 12, 2010 @ 14:00GMT Group Stage Group B
Argentina vs Nigeria
at Ellis Park
June 17, 2010 @ 14:00GMT Group Stage Group B
Greece vs Nigeria
at Free State Stadium
June 22, 2010 @ 18:30GMT Group Stage Group B
Nigeria vs South Korea
at Durban Stadium
Short Team History Nigeria:
FIFA member since: 1960
Team nickname: Super Eagles
All-time caps leader: Mudashiru Lawal (86)
All-time leading scorer: Rashidi Yekini (37)
Notable achievements: African Cup of Nations Champions (1980, 1994)
Legendary Player: Muda Lawal was a hero of the Nigerian side that won its first African Cup of Nations in 1980 - his goal in the final against Algeria secured victory for the "Super Eagles.".
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Nigeria
#1 Vincent ENYEAMA
#16 Austin EJIDE
#23 Dele AIYENUGBA
#2 Joseph YOBO
#3 Taye TAIWO
#5 Rabiu AFOLABI
#6 Danny SHITTU
#17 Chidi ODIAH
#21 Uwa ECHIEJILE
#22 Dele ADELEYE
#4 Nwankwo KANU
#10 John Obi MIKEL
#12 Kalu UCHE
#13 Yussuf AYILA
#14 Sani KAITA
#15 Lukman HARUNA
#20 Dickson ETUHU
#7 John UTAKA
#8 Yakubu AIYEGBENI
#9 Obafemi MARTINS
#11 Peter ODEMWINGIE
#18 Victor OBINNA
#19 Chinedu OGBUKE OBASI
#1 Vincent ENYEAMA
#16 Austin EJIDE
#23 Dele AIYENUGBA
#2 Joseph YOBO
#3 Taye TAIWO
#5 Rabiu AFOLABI
#6 Danny SHITTU
#17 Chidi ODIAH
#21 Uwa ECHIEJILE
#22 Dele ADELEYE
#4 Nwankwo KANU
#10 John Obi MIKEL
#12 Kalu UCHE
#13 Yussuf AYILA
#14 Sani KAITA
#15 Lukman HARUNA
#20 Dickson ETUHU
#7 John UTAKA
#8 Yakubu AIYEGBENI
#9 Obafemi MARTINS
#11 Peter ODEMWINGIE
#18 Victor OBINNA
#19 Chinedu OGBUKE OBASI
Want to Know More About Nigeria ? Read More ~!!~
Appearances at finals:1994 - Second round
1998 - Second round
2002 - First round
Overall record at finals: Played 11, Won 4, Drawn 1, Lost 6.
Best performance: Second round in 1994 and 1998.
Most apearances at finals: Jay-Jay Okocha (1994, 1998, 2002) - 10.
Most goals at finals: Emmanuel Amuneke (1994), Daniel Amokachi (1994) - 2.
World Cup high: Beating Spain 3-2 at the 1998 finals. Mutiu Adepoju equalised after Fernando Hierro gave Spain the lead, but Raúl put Javier Clemente's side back in front. However, a resilient Nigeria performance was rewarded with goals from Garba Lawal and Sunday Oliseh as they sealed a famous win.
World Cup low: Being destroyed 4-1 by Denmark in the second round of the 1998 finals. After the impressive result against Spain, the 'Super Eagles' were taught a cruel lesson in the first knockout round by the 1992 European Championship winners, with a Tijani Babangida goal the only consolation.
World Cup legend: Jay-Jay "so good they named him twice" Okocha, who burst onto the international scene as a fresh-faced 20-year-old at the 1994 World Cup finals. Of Nigeria's 11 World Cup games, Okocha missed just one - their first ever - and entertained crowds in the USA, France and Japan/South Korea, captaining the side at the 2002 finals. Okocha dazzled, with his natural flair shining through on the big stage as he helped take Nigeria to the second round in both 1994 and 1998.
The story so far: Before qualifying for their first finals in 1994, Nigeria had come desperately close to qualifying on a number of occasions, including final-stage defeats to Morocco in 1970 qualifying, Tunisia in Egypt in 1978, Algeria in 1982 and fierce rivals Cameroon in 1990. But, in 1994, they made their World Cup bow and impressed, winning their group with wins against Bulgaria and Greece, and a narrow defeat to Argentina.
If reaching the second round in their debut finals wasn't impressive enough, the 'Super Eagles' were two minutes away from reaching the quarter-finals as they led 1-0 against Italy, but an equaliser from Roberto Baggio and then an extra-time winner from the forward knocked them out.
The 1998 finals saw Nigeria's most famous World Cup result, after the 'Super Eagles' twice came from behind to beat Spain 3-2 in their opening fixture. A win against Bulgaria and defeat to Paraguay followed but Nigeria won the group. However, their finals campaign ended in bitter disappointment after they exited at the hands of Denmark in the second round, crashing out 4-1.
In 2002, Nigeria were drawn in a tricky group with Argentina, England and Sweden. After a tight 1-0 loss to Argentina, Nigeria were 1-0 up against Sweden but ended up losing 2-1 before a spirited 0-0 draw in searing heat against Sven-Göran Eriksson's side left them with a solitary point at the bottom of the group. Nigeria missed out on a fourth consecutive finals appearance in 2006 after finishing second in qualifying to Angola.
Qualification: Nigeria left it late to narrowly scrape through to their fourth finals, though many were surprised at how they laboured after advancing from the opening qualifying round with a 100% record. South Africa, Sierra Leone and Equatorial Guinea were beaten home and away as the 'Super Eagles' cruised through.
In the final qualifying round, Nigeria remained unbeaten, but draws against rivals Tunisia - home and away - and Mozambique looked to have ended their World Cup 2010 dreams. However, a dramatic 93rd-minute winner from Victor Obinna in their penultimate game against Mozambique kept their slim hopes alive and, when group leaders Tunisia suffered a shock loss to Mozambique in the final match, Nigeria came from behind to beat Kenya 3-2 in Nairobi to qualify against the odds.
Qualifying record (second round): P6, W6, D0, L0, F11, A1, Pts18.
Qualifying record (third round): P6, W3, D3, L0, F9, A4, Pts12.
Most appearances: Ikechukwu Uche, Peter Odemwingie, Vincent Enyeama (10).
Top goalscorer: Ikechukwu Uche (4).
TEAM HISTORY NIGERIA:
Expectations are diminished for Nigeria at the 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa™, but it was not long ago that the Super Eagles were seen as the most likely African nation to finally reach the last four of a FIFA World Cup. And though they have just one point from their last five matches in the finals and missed out on Germany 2006 altogether, the continent’s most populous nation looks likely to be a dangerous dark horse with little to lose up against the world’s best.
That was how the side came to USA 94, where they dismantled eventual semi-finalists Bulgaria 3-0 in their first match before going on to cruelly fall 2-1 against Italy in the second round. However, that was not before the likes of Sunday Oliseh, Victor Ikpeba, Jay-Jay Okocha and Finidi George had become synonymous with the next generation of explosive African football. A similarly quick start in 1998 - they stunned Spain 3-2 in one of the matches of the tournament to start and beat Bulgaria again 1-0 - gave way to another second round defeat, this time a disheartening thumping at the hands of Denmark 4-1. But after dramatically reaching South Africa in their final qualifier, Nigeria could be forgiven for going into the finals with a positive attitude.
The road to South Africa
A surprising scoreless draw in their first match in the final round of CAF qualifying to Mozambique left Nigeria playing catch-up to Tunisia from the start, and consecutive draws with the Carthage Eagles had the west Africans staring elimination in the face. However, Tunisia lost 1-0 in Mozambique and Nigeria came from a goal behind twice to win 3-2 in Kenya. Striker Obafemi Martins was the hero on the day, coming on at half-time before scoring the first equaliser on the hour mark and the winner just nine minutes from time. The goal stamped Nigeria’s ticket to the next World Cup.
The star players
The Super Eagles have the ability to score a lot of goals in South Africa behind a pacy, dynamic attack that features the likes of Martins, Yakubu Aiyegbeni, Peter Odemwingie as well as youngsters Victor Obinna and Ikechukwu Uche and evergreen Nwankwo Kanu in what is surely his last role of the dice. They won’t be a soft touch behind that either, with Jon Obi Mikel anchoring the midfield, and captain Joseph Yobo in the centre of defence.
The coach
Despite qualifying the Super Eagles for another FIFA World Cup, Shaibu Amodu was demoted after the team finished third at the 2010 CAF Africa Cup of Nations in Angola. He was replaced by former Sweden boss Lars Lagerback at the end of February. The 61-year-old led Sweden for over a decade - part of the time as co-manager with Tommy Soderberg - and took the side to the knockout rounds at Korea/Japan 2002 as well as Germany 2006. His teams also qualified for three consecutive European Championships.
Record
• Nigeria’s 3-0 waltz over Bulgaria in their USA 94 debut match was more remarkable given that the Europeans went on to beat Greece, Argentina, Mexico and Germany in the tournament.
• Since Clemens Westerhof built the 1994 side and left the Super Eagles, the team has been coached by such well-known European journeymen as Jo Bonfrere, Philippe Troussier, Bora Milutinovic and Berti Vogts.
• Nigeria have a rich history at other worldwide tournaments, having won the 1985, 1993 and 2007 FIFA U-17 World Cup as well as the 1996 Olympic Football Tournament.
What they said
"We know that we will have a tough job at the World Cup. We are up against some tough teams like Argentina, with top players like [Lionel] Messi. It's important for us to prove that we can play our own game against the best," Nigeria forward Chinedu Obasi.
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