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Find out Nigeria World Cup history and how they have performed in past tournaments with this comprehensive review of their adventure so far.
The national football team of Nigeria, famously known as the Super Eagles, have been a major force in international football tournaments since their introduction in the 1950s. Controlling the team is Nigeria Football Federation (NFF).
Throughout their history, the Super Eagles have won three Africa Cup of Nations titles and achieved the FIFA ranking of 5th in 1994 – an all-time record for an African football team.
They have also participated in six of last seven FIFA World Cups, missing the one hosted by Germany in 2006 as well as the one hosted by Qatar in 2022.
Notable results include reaching the round of 16 three times – a testament to the strength and quality of Nigerian footballers.
Nigeria World Cup History
See Top 10 Best Super Eagles Goalkeepers of all time as well as Download All Super Eagles Gyration Songs On Mp3.
In this article, we will explore their history within the coveted tournament as well as delve into some background on the team as a whole.
Nigeria 1994 World Cup
In 1994, the Super Eagles of Nigeria made history by qualifying for their first ever FIFA World Cup. See the complete squad here.
This historic achievement was made possible through the guidance of head coach Clemens Westerhof, who had been at the helm since 1989.
At that year’s World Cup, Nigeria impressively topped their group which included Argentina, Bulgaria and Greece.
After a 3–0 win over Bulgaria, a 1–2 loss to Argentina and a 2–0 victory against Greece secured their spot in the second round where they lost against Italy courtesy of a brace from Italian talisman Roberto Baggio.
1998 World Cup Nigeria
In 1998, Nigeria’s Super Eagles football team made their second World Cup appearance.
They kicked off their campaign with a shocking 3-2 victory over heavily favored Spain, courtesy of a second-half goal from Sunday Oliseh that served as a legendary moment for the team.
The Eagles then lost 1-3 against Paraguay and beat Bulgaria 1-0, narrowly advancing them to Round 2, in which they ultimately lost to Denmark 1-4.
Super Eagles 2002 World Cup
The 2002 World Cup provided a huge challenge for the Super Eagles, the Nigerian national football team, as they were drawn in the same group as powerhouses Sweden, Argentina, and England.
In their opening game against Argentina, Nigeria put up a strong defence but eventually lost 1–0.
This was followed by a 2–1 loss against Sweden and a 0–0 draw with England before Nigeria bowed out in the first round without recording a win.
Nigeria 2010 World Cup
In 2010, the Eagles hoped to make a comeback after their failure in 2006 by playing in the World Cup.
Unfortunately, their performance in the opening match against Argentina was unsuccessful, as they lost 1-0 thanks to a controversial headed goal.
They furthermore lost and drew their next matches against Greece and South Korea with scores of 2-1 and 2-2 respectively.
The draw against South Korea was not enough to secure them a spot in the next round.
2014 World Cup Nigeria
At the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil, the Super Eagles of Nigeria were pitted against tough competition in Group F – Bosnia, Argentina and Iran.
Nigeria beat Bosnia 1-0 but was held to a 0-0 draw with Iran and succumbed to a 2-3 loss against Argentina.
Despite this, they managed to advance to the Round of 16, where they met France.
Unfortunately for Nigeria, a goal from Pogba in the 79th minute followed by an own goal from Super Eagles’ Captain Yobo in injury time saw them lose 2-0 – their third loss at the round of 16 hurdle.
Thus, yet again, Nigeria was unable to progress beyond this point and make it into the quarterfinals stage.
2018 World Cup Super Eagles
The 2018 FIFA World Cup was hosted by Russia, with 32 countries vying for the coveted cup.
The Super Eagles of Nigeria were among them, competing in Group D alongside Argentina, Croatia and Iceland.
Unfortunately, their dreams of victory came to an end following their 0-2 loss against Croatia in their first match of the tournament and a 1-2 defeat against Argentina in the second.
However, they managed to salvage some pride with a 2-0 win in their third fixture, against Iceland. Here is the complete list of Nigerian players at the 2018 tournament. Also, the jerseys all these Nigeria squads wore at the different World Cups can be seen here.
