Football Nigeria -- Eagles Etcetera

Alexandria, EGYPT -- Nigeria suffered a 0-2 shock in its encounter with Madagascar. Going into this game many expected Nigeria to take all three points when only a tie was needed. Yet, Nigeria neither accomplished a win nor did it split the points on a tie. Instead, the shock loss denies Nigeria the top position in the group and condemns Nigeria to a tougher Round of 16 match-up. An early blunder by John Ogu and then Balogun's lack of awareness or failure to protect the ball resulted in a gift goal to Madagascar. Bouyed by the goal, Madagascar defended stoutly and presented problems in a few counters. While it seemed Nigeria's frenetic play after going behind was going to earn them at least a tie, it was another error that pushed Nigeria further back early in the second half. This time it was a poor pass by Etebo back into his area that forced Ndidi to foul a Madagascar forward. The resulting free kick deflected off Ndidi and wrong footed goalkeeper Ezenwa for the second goal...

Alexandria, Egypt -- Nigeria moved comfortably into the elimination phase of the 2019 African Cup of Nations with a deserved 1-0 win over Guinea, securing maximum points in two games with a game left to play. It was a deserved win. Nigeria provided very few opportunities to the Guineans who relied on phantom fouls to create any meaningful opportunities. The opening half was largely even with Iwobi granted a free role, which he took with relish. However, he did make some poor decisions on his passes but overall his involvement covered a lot of space. Behind him, Ndidi was having one of his best games for Nigeria giving Naby Keita fits in the middle. Nigeria's midfield was indeed authoritative until Iwobi was taken off for Chukwueze. The goal came from a set piece after Simon's corner kicks were wide off the mark. This time, in the 73rd minute, his kick found Omeruo who struck a sharp header beyond the Guinean goalkeeper. It underlined Nigeria's dominance in the game...

Alexandria, EGYPT -- Nigeria took all three points today with a 1-0 win over Burundi. That is what mattered as the Super Eagles' AFCON campaign commenced. However, the reality was that Nigeria was expected to crush the Burundi team. Nigeria dominated most of the game but the final play was lacking and the Burundians defended stoutly. One also has to wonder if the reported multiple illnesses and injuries in the Nigerian camp had its effect. In any case, the objective was achieved with Nigeria taking all three points. Samuel Chukwueze and Alex Iwobi were the most impressive Nigerian players going forward but it was Ighalo's clinical finishing from Ola Aina's superb assist made the difference. One shock was the performance of Nigerian captain Mikel Obi who was well below par until the manager rescued him with a deserved substitution after 57 minutes of work. The team was playing very quick with Chukwueze at the head of the spear, turning the Burundi defenders inside ...

In this blog piece I have collated Nigeria's records at the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON). What is clear is that some of those records would have been more impressive if maximum dictator Sani Abacha had not withdrawn the team from the 1996 tournament and also caused Nigeria's absence in 1998 due to suspension. But also the team's failure to qualify for the 2012, 2015, and 2017 tournaments cost players like Vincent Enyeama and Mikel Obi some individual records as well.  Nonetheless, with the 2019 AFCON at hand, it has become clear that few or perhaps none of Nigeria's records presented in the table below are under any serious threat. The records are categorized under team and individual. Team Records The 1980 tournament, which was the first AFCON won by Nigeria, remains the most efficient with four wins and just one tie leading to an efficiency of 0.867. It is unmatched by any tournament performance before or after. The wins of 2013 and 1994, in comparison, pr...