Top 3 historic results for Nigerian national football team

Published: March 30, 2021

The Nigerian national team is often called the best national team on the African continent. And rightly so. Football in Nigeria is simply adored.

The national team played the first match before the country gained independence. In 1949, the Super Eagles made their debut on the field, beating Sierra Leone.

Since then, the Nigerians have won the African Cup of Nations 3 times and even managed to win gold at the Olympics.

This Meta.reviews article highlights the national team’s most notable victories.

3. Victory over Burkina Faso in 2013 AFCON (1-0)

Nigeria had not won the Africa Cup of Nations for 19 years (the Super Eagles won the last title in 1994), so it was a matter of honour for them to beat Burkina Faso in the final match. The winning goal was scored by Sunday Mba.

This success can be considered historic because it was the biggest since winning gold at the 1996 Olympics.

Some fans of the Nigerian team did not remember that victory as they were still children at the time. Therefore, the 2013 success has convinced them that the Whites and Greens are one of the strongest teams on the continent.

2. Victory over Argentina in 1996 Olympic Games (3-2)

That victory brought the Nigerian team a gold medal at the Atlanta Olympics. A truly stellar squad went to those games: Emmanuel and Celestine Babayaro, Nwankwo Kanu, Jay-Jay Okocha and other legends.

In the semi-final, the Whites and Greens managed to knock off Brazil with Ronaldo, Rivaldo and Roberto Carlos, losing 0-1 by 77 minutes before eventually triumphing (3-1).

The match against Argentina, represented by Javier Zanetti, Claudio López, Hernán Crespo, Ariel Ortega, Roberto Ayala and other great players, played out in much the same way.

They were 2-1 up by the 73rd minute but in the 74th minute Amokachi equalized and Emmanuel Amuneke netted the winning goal, making it Nigeria’s first and only win at the Olympics.

This event became historic not only for the national team but also for Africa because the whole world was convinced that there are very talented football players on this continent, capable of repelling the best teams in the world.

Also, thanks to the victory at the 1996 Games, the Nigerian team now has a full set of Olympic awards.

In 2008 they became the second, losing to the same Argentines, and in 2016 they won bronze in Rio.

1. Victory over Algeria in 1980 AFCON (3-0)

This match can rightfully be considered historical. Then Nigeria hosted AFCON and was more motivated than ever to win the championship because before that they had never managed to win the title.

In the home arena, in front of 85,000 fans, the Nigerians defeated the Algerian national team in the final match, leaving them no chance.

The two goals were scored by Segun Odegbami (the tournament’s top scorer) and one by Mudashiru Lawal.

So in the 12th AFCON draw, the Nigerians won their first title out of three and proved that they can claim the title of the best African national team.

Ifeanyi Emmanuel