Nigeria World Cup 2018

Nigeria World Cup 2018

Nigeria were the first team from the Confederation of African Football to qualify for Russia 2018, booking themselves a place at their sixth World Cup finals in the process.

History at the World Cup

Logo NigeriaThe ‘Super Eagles’ have appeared at the World Cup five times previously, reaching the last 16 on three separate occasions. On their debut, in 1994, they topped a group ahead of Bulgaria, Argentina, and Greece to mark their arrival on the world stage. They then gave eventual finalists Italy a run for their money, before losing out 2-1 after extra time.

They again made it to the knock-out stages four years later. Again, they topped their group, finishing ahead of Spain, Paraguay, and Bulgaria, but hit a brick wall in a rampant Denmark team in the last 16. A 4-1 defeat was the end of their World cup adventure for another year. The group stage was as far as they went in 2002 and 2010, finishing bottom of the group both times.

In 2014, they were drawn with Argentina (for a fourth time), Bosnia, and Iran. One win, one draw, and one defeat were enough to see them squeeze through to the last 16 for the third time in their history. Again, that was as far as they went, with a 2-0 defeat to France.

  • World Cup Finals Appearances – 5
  • Previous Best Performance – Last 16 (3 times)

How they qualified

Nigeria were the first African nation to qualify for the 2018 World Cup, despite the fact they were in a group with two teams ranked higher than them. In round two, which was basically a play-off round before the group stage, Nigeria beat Swaziland 2-0 over two legs. In the group stage, they were paired with Algeria and Cameroon, who were at the time ranked first and sixth in the CAF. The fourth team in the group were Zambia, who were ranked 17th. Four wins and one draw were enough to guarantee their place in the finals. The final qualifying match was awarded as a 3-0 win for Algeria, due to Nigeria fielding an ineligible player, but it didn’t have any impact on the final positions.

Coach/Manager

German Gernot Rohr, who has previously managed Gabon, Niger, and Burkina Faso, became head coach of Nigeria in August 2016. Rohr has been in management since 1990, following a senior playing career that lasted from 1972 until 1989.

His biggest achievement at club level was guiding Bordeaux to the 1996 UEFA Cup Final, and leading Nigeria to the World Cup finals will be the biggest moment of his international management career.

Star Players

Former Chelsea star John Obi Mikel is the captain of the team and will feature at his second World Cup finals, having been a big part of the 2014 squad that reached the knock-out stages. He has been a Nigeria international since 2005, but missed out on the 2010 World Cup through injury.

Nigeria Super Eagles
Nigeria Super Eagles

There are several squad members who play in the English Premier League. Ahmed Musa, Kelechi Iheanacho, and Wilfred Ndidi at Leicester City, Victor Moses at Chelsea, Alex Iwobi at Arsenal, and Isaac Success at Watford.

Nigeria World Cup 2018: Assessing Their Chances

Nigeria have been drawn in a group with Argentina for a fifth time at a World Cup finals, and the other two teams in the group are Iceland and Croatia.

The African side are the lowest ranked nation in the group but that doesn’t lessen their chances of advancing to the next round, in our opinion.

They beat Argentina in a friendly in November 2017, and have never played against either of the other two.

The bookmakers believe Argentina and Croatia will go through, as most have Nigeria priced at around 9/4 to qualify and 10/1 to win the group.

However, if they can get off to a winning start against Croatia, they will give themselves a fantastic chance of making the last 16 again.

Our Nigeria World Cup Prediction

While it makes sense to believe Argentina will top the group, with Croatia going through in second, we predict that Nigeria will be the surprise package of this World Cup. They may be the lowest FIFA ranked nation in the group, but they have fantastic talent at their disposal and will cause every team they play plenty of problems.

That is why we are predicting Nigeria will finish second in the group, behind Argentina, and move on to a last 16 clash which will probably be against France. As for what happens then, it’s anyone’s guess. So, our prediction for Nigeria is that they will reach at least the last 16.