The beautiful game: Nigeria’s soccer World Cup history

The 2022 FIFA World Cup is well underway in Qatar, and fans are being treated to some truly incredible play in every match. Soccer is on the tip of every sports fan’s tongue; it's playing in malls and any sports bar you might walk into. It's a hot topic at the moment, and so are the teams who play this beautiful game! If you want to keep up with the World Cup Odds you better make sure you never miss a game.

Though the World Cup is an exciting moment in the sporting year, there are a number of incredibly skilled teams who are more than deserving of our attention, even if they didn't manage to qualify for the cup this year. Today, we turn our attention to the Super Eagles: Nigeria’s national soccer team. The three-time Africa Cup of Nations winners and one-time fifth FIFA ranked team are making big strides, despite not being at the World Cup this time. 

Pre-World-Cup history

Before the Nigerian national team was known as the Super Eagles, they went by another name: The Red Devils. Way back in 1949, the Devils played their first official soccer game as a colony of Great Britain. The team’s success was not instantaneous, however, and it took them until the seventies to gain any real acclaim as a soccer nation. The country became independent in 1960 and the Devils became the Super Eagles. They won a gold medal at the second ever Africa Cup of Nations and went on to finish in third place in 1976 and 1978. Greats such as Christian Chukwu, Segun Odegbami, and Best Ogedegbe carried the Eagles to their first Cup of Nations win, which would be followed by a second win in 1994. This was also the year that they took part in the FIFA World Cup.

World Cup history

1994

Legendary coach Clemens Westerhof led the Super Eagles to their first ever FIFA World Cup in 1994. The team did incredibly well for first timers, topping their group (Argentina, Bulgaria, and Greece) with ease. They won their opening game against Bulgaria 3-0, lost to Argentina 1-2, and then beat Greece 2-0. Their second round looked promising against Italy, and they almost took a win there too, but Roberto Baggio scored and took the game into extra time, which led to a 2-1 defeat.

1998

The Eagles made their second trip to the World Cup in 1998, alongside a group of Spain, Bulgaria, and Paraguay. They shocked fans by trouncing Spain 3-2. Sunday Oliseh’s second-half goal was legendary that year. The Eagles went on to lose against Paraguay and beat Bulgaria. They proceeded to round two, where they lost to Denmark 1-4.

2002

The Eagles started to decline in 2002, barely qualifying for the cup, and only just managing to scrape their way in. It was a dismal year for the team, who lost all three of their matches against Sweden, Argentina, and England.

2010

Failing to qualify in 2006, the Eagles hoped to redeem themselves in 2010. They lost their opening match against Argentina 1-0, following a controversial headed goal, lost to Greece 2-1, and lost their final game against South Korea 2-2. Though they had equalized against the Koreans, this was not enough to put them ahead and push them through to the next round.

2014

Appearing in Group F alongside Bosnia, Argentina, and Iran, the team had another unimpressive year, but not quite as speedy an exit from the tournament. They beat Bosnia 1-0, drew 0-0 with Iran, and lost to Argentina 2-3, earning them a round-two berth and the chance to play France. Unfortunately an own-goal destroyed the team’s hopes of advancing any further. 

2018

This time the Super Eagles were grouped with Argentina, Croatia, and Iceland. Their first match against Croatia was a losing one, 0-2. They beat Iceland 2-0, and lost 1-2 to Argentina, sending them crashing out of the tournament.

Wrap Up

For now, this has been the end of Nigeria’s World Cup dreams. We can only hold out hope that they restore themselves to their former glory and that we see them back on the World Cup stage in Canada, Mexico, and the United States in 2026.