Saturday, June 16, 2018

2018 World Cup: 10 FACTS ABOUT Nigeria's Super Eagles world Cup efforts

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   1.  First things first, The Super Eagles of Nigeria officially have the ‘most stylish’ World Cup kit. The Nike-designed World Cup kit sold out globally on the same day it was released as fans lined up wrapping around the block outside Nike’s Store in London. 
1994 sqaud!
1  2. Nigeria will be making its 6th appearance at the FIFA World Cup (Russia 2018) with their first official appearance at the World Cup in USA 1994

   3. Following their first appearance, the Super Eagles of Nigeria qualified for a consecutive time in France 1998, finishing in the Round of 16 in both appearances with the 9th and 12th position respectively. Not skipping a bit, Nigeria qualified for its third World cup which was hosted by South Korea and Japan in 2002; they finished in the Group stage with 27th position. While the Super Eagles did not qualify for Germany 2006, they however made it to the first ever World Cup held on African soil; South Africa 2010 (Group stage, 27th position). In 2014, the Eagles of Nigeria made it to the World Cup in Brazil, this time; they finished in the Round of 16 taking the 16th position. They are currently in Russia making their 6th appearance in the World Cup, and as we wait to see how this young team will fare in the tournament, it is evident that they have already made their mark in history.


   4.High rankings:  prior to their premier appearance at FIFA’s World Cup, the Eagles of Nigeria were ranked 5th in the FIFA rankings in 1994 which remains the highest FIFA ranking attained by an African football team.  They are currently ranked at 48 on the FIFA ranking with an average ranking of 38 since their first World Cup appearance

   5.  The Super Eagles of Nigeria, first timers in the FIFA’s World Cup gave an amazing performance which till date remains their highest scoring game in the World Cup. It was Nigeria vs. Bulgaria which ended in 3-0 (Nigeria won.)

   6.Nigeria’s Joseph Yobo has the top World Cup appearances (2002, 2010, and 2014) in 10 matches for the Eagles.  He is closely followed by legendary player Jay-Jay Okocha (1994, 1998, and 2002) in 9 matches.

   7. Daniel Amokachi (2 goals), Emmanuel Amunike (2 goals), Kalu Uche (2 goals), and Ahmed Musa (2 goals), are top scorers in Nigeria’s World Cup effort.

   8.Youngsters! The the least average age-players  in the Nigerian team which consists of Arsenal’s Alex Iwobi, 22, Benfica’s Tyronne Ebuehi 21, Leicester City’s Kelechi Iheanacho, 21 and goalkeeper Francis Uzoho, 19.

   9.In its 6th World Cup apprances, Nigeira and Argentina have been grouped together for a record 5 times.

   10. The eagles of Nigeria are locked in Group D along with Croatia, Argentina, and Iceland.








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