FIFA World Cup matches, whether in the qualifying series or in the finals, are always rich in statistics. So it will be in Nigeria’s next match.
When the Super Eagles line up against the Algerians in Uyo on November 12, it is more than just a World Cup qualifying duel. It is a milestone for Nigeria as the match will be the country’s 100th FIFA World Cup qualifying duel since the maiden 4-1 loss to Ghana in Accra on August 28, 1960.
Thus Nigeria will be the second African team to hit the 100th mark after Morocco whose total will be 107 after hosting Cote d’Ivoire on November 12.
Also expected to play its 100th World Cup qualifying match on the same day is Tunisia whose team will be away to Libya on November 11. But Nigeria has a better aggregate than both Morocco and Tunisia.
Ahead of the Uyo match, no African side has racked up as many World Cup qualifying victories as Nigeria whose overall record of 55 wins from 99 games equates to a win rate of 55.5%.
In the upcoming fixture with Algeria, the Super Eagles team has an opportunity to further consolidate on Group B leadership and also extend an existing record.
With two wins and a draw so far on the road to Russia 2018, following two matches with Swaziland and a game with Zambia, Nigeria has extended an unbeaten streak in the World Cup qualifying to 31, the longest recorded by an African team.
The Super Eagles’ last defeat was a 1-0 loss to Angola in Luanda on June 20, 2004. Since that loss which contributed largely to failure to qualify for Germany 2006, Nigeria has gone 31 matches undefeated. A win over Algeria extends the streak to 32.
It is also on record that Nigeria has not lost at home in a World Cup qualifying match since the October 10, 1981 0-2 loss to Algeria. Since, the Super Eagles have had 28 wins (including 21 consecutive victories) and two draws from home qualifying matches.
The two draws at home were the 1-1 with Angola in Kano in 2005 and another 1-1 with Kenya in March 2013. The latter was almost fatal as the equalising goal was scored by Nnamdi Oduamadi almost with the last kick of the added three minutes. It turned the only time Kenya ever scored against Nigeria outside Nairobi.
As the Super Eagles battles to continue its leadership of Group B in a quest for a sixth appearance at the World Cup, the match against Algeria is crucial. It was Algeria in 1981 that punctured Nigeria’s home invincibility in the World Cup qualifying series.
Algeria was gunning for a barren draw in another World Cup qualifying tie in 2004 in Abuja before a late goal gave Nigeria a 1-0.
NIGERIA’S 99 WORLD CUP QUALIFYING MATCHES
- Aug. 28, 1960, Accra: Ghana 4-1 Nigeria
- Sept. 10, 1960, Lagos: Nigeria 2-2 Ghana
- Dec. 7, 1968, Lagos: Nigeria 1-1 Cameroon
- Dec. 22, 1968, Yaoundé: Cameroon 1-2 Nigeria
- May 10, 1969, Ibadan: Nigeria 2-2 Ghana
- May 18, 1969, Accra: Ghana 1-1 Nigeria* Nigeria advanced via toss of coin
- Sep. 13, 1969, Ibadan: Nigeria 2-2 Sudan
- Sep. 21, 1969, Casablanca: Morocco 2-1 Nigeria
- Oct. 2, 1969, Khartoum: Sudan 3-3 Nigeria
- Nov. 8, 1969, Ibadan: Nigeria 2-0 Morocco. * Morocco advanced, topping a 3-team league involving Nigeria and Sudan.
- Aug. 5, 1972, Ibadan: Nigeria 2-1 Congo
- Aug. 15 1972, Brazzaville: Congo 1-1 Nigeria
- Feb. 10, 1973, Lagos: Nigeria 2-3 Ghana* match ended in riot. Match awarded 2-0 to Ghana
- Feb. 25, 1973, Accra: Ghana 0-0 Nigeria
- Oct. 16, 1976, Freetown: Sierra Leone 0-0 Nigeria
- Oct. 30, 1976, Lagos: Nigeria 6-2 Sierra Leone
- Jul. 10, 1977, Lagos: Nigeria 4-0 Cote d’Ivoire
- Jul. 27, 1977, Bouake: Cote d’Ivoire 2-2 Nigeria
- Sep. 25, 1977, Tunis: Tunisia 0-0 Nigeria
- Oct. 8, 1977, Lagos: Nigeria 4-0 Egypt
- Oct. 21, 1977, Cairo: Egypt 3-1 Nigeria
- Nov. 12, 1977, Lagos: Nigeria 0-1 Tunisia
- June 26, 1980, Tunis: Tunisia 2-0 Nigeria
- Jul. 12, 1980, Lagos: Nigeria 2-0 Tunisia* Nigeria advanced via penalties
- Dec. 6, 1980, Lagos: Nigeria 1-1 Tanzania
- Dec. 20, 1980, Dar es Salaam: Tanzania 0-2 Nigeria
- Apr. 12, 1981, Conakry: Guinea 1-1 Nigeria
- Apr. 25, 1981, Lagos: Nigeria 1-0 Guinea
- Oct. 10, 1981, Lagos: Nigeria 0-2 Algeria
- Oct. 30, 1981, Constantine: Algeria 2-1 Nigeria
- Oct. 20, 1984, Lagos: Nigeria 3-0 Liberia
- Nov. 11, 1984, Monrovia: Liberia 0-1 Nigeria
- Apr. 7, 1985, Nairobi: Kenya 0-3 Nigeria
- Apr. 20, 1985, Lagos: Nigeria 3-1 Kenya
- Jul. 6, 1985, Lagos: Nigeria 1-0 Tunisia
- Jul. 20, 1985, Tunis: Tunisia 2-0 Nigeria
- Jan. 7, 1989, Enugu: Nigeria 1-0 Gabon
- Jan 22, 1989, Luanda: Angola 2-2 Nigeria
- Jun. 10, 1989, Ibadan: Nigeria 2-0 Cameroon
- Jun. 25, 1989, Libreville: Gabon 2-1 Nigeria
- Aug. 12, 1989, Lagos: Nigeria 1-0 Angola
- Aug. 27, 1989, Yaoundé: Cameroon 1-0 Nigeria
- Oct. 10, 1992, Lagos: Nigeria 4-0 South Africa
- Oct. 20, 1992, Pointe Noire: Congo 0-1 Nigeria
- Jan. 16, 1993, J’burg: South Africa 0-0 Nigeria
- Feb. 27, 1993, Enugu: Nigeria 2-0 Congo
- May 2, 1993, Abidjan: Cote d’Ivoire 2-1 Nigeria
- Jul. 13, 1993, Lagos: Nigeria 4-1 Algeria
- Sep. 25, 1993, Lagos: Nigeria 4-1 Cote d’Ivoire
- Oct. 8, 1993, Algiers: Algeria 1-1 Nigeria * Nigeria qualified for USA ‘94
- Nov. 9, 1996, Lagos: Nigeria 2-0 Burkina Faso
- Jan. 12, 1997, Nairobi: Kenya 1-1 Nigeria
- Apr. 5, 1997, Lagos: Nigeria 2-1 Guinea
- Apr. 27, 1997, Ouagadougou: Burkina Faso 1-2 Nigeria
- Jun. 7, 1997, Lagos: Nigeria 3-0 Kenya * Nigeria qualified for France ’98 with one game to go
- Aug. 17, 1997, Conakry: Guinea 1-0 Nigeria
- Apr. 9, 2000, Asmara: Eritrea 0-0 Nigeria
- Apr. 22, 2000, Lagos: Nigeria 4-0 Eritrea
- Jun. 17, 2000, Lagos: Nigeria 2-0 Sierra Leone
- Jul. 9, 2000, Monrovia: Liberia 2-1 Nigeria
- Jan. 27, 2001, Port Harcourt: Nigeria 3-0 Sudan
- Mar. 11, 2001, Accra: Ghana 0-0 Nigeria
- Apr. 21, 2001, Freetown: Sierra Leone 1-0 Nigeria
- May 5, 2001, Port Harcourt: Nigeria 2-0 Liberia
- Jul. 1, 2001, Ombdurman: Sudan 0-4 Nigeria
- Jul. 29, 2001, Port Harcourt: Nigeria 3-0 Ghana * Nigeria qualified for Korea/Japan 2002
- Jun. 5, 2004, Abuja: Nigeria 2-0 Rwanda
- Jun. 20, 2004, Luanda: Angola 1-0 Nigeria
- Jul. 3, 2004, Abuja: Nigeria 1-0 Algeria
- Sep. 5. 2004, Harare: Zimbabwe 0-3 Nigeria
- Oct. 10. 2004, Libreville: Gabon 1-1 Nigeria
- Mar. 26, 2005, Port Harcourt: Nigeria 2-0 Gabon
- Jun. 5, 2005, Kigali: Rwanda 1-1 Nigeria
- Jun. 18, 2005 Kano: Nigeria 1-1 Angola
- Sep. 4, 2005, Oran: Algeria 2-5 Nigeria
- Oct. 8, 2005, Abuja: Nigeria 5-1 Zimbabwe
- Jun. 1, 2008, Abuja: Nigeria 2-0 South Africa
- Jun. 7, 2008, Freetown: Sierra Leone 0-1 Nigeria
- Jun. 14, 2008, Malabo: Equatorial Guinea 0-1 Nigeria
- Jun. 21, 2008, Abuja: Nigeria 2-0 Equatorial Guinea
- Sep. 6, 2008, Port Elizabeth: South Africa 0-1 Nigeria
- Oct. 11, 2008, Abuja: Nigeria 4-1 Sierra Leone
- Mar. 29, 2009, Maputo: Mozambique 0-0 Nigeria
- Jun. 7, 2009, Abuja: Nigeria 3-0 Kenya
- Jun. 20, 2009, Rades: Tunisia 0-0 Nigeria
- Sep. 6, 2009, Abuja: Nigeria 2-2 Tunisia
- Oct. 11, 2009, Abuja: Nigeria 1-0 Mozambique
- Nov. 14, 2009, Nairobi: Kenya 2-3 Nigeria * Nigeria qualify for South Africa 2010
- Jun. 1, 2012, Calabar: Nigeria 1-0 Namibia
- Jun. 9, 2012, Blantyre: Malawi 1-1 Nigeria
- Mar. 23, 2013, Calabar: Nigeria 1-1 Kenya
- Jun. 5, 2013, Nairobi: Kenya 0-1 Nigeria
- Jun. 12, 2013, Windhoek: Namibia 1-1 Nigeria
- Sep. 7, 2013, Calabar: Nigeria 2-0 Malawi
- Oct. 13, 2013, Addis Ababa: Ethiopia 1-2 Nigeria
- Nov. 16, 2013, Calabar: Nigeria 2-0 Ethiopia Nigeria * Nigeria qualify for Brazil 2014
- Nov. 13, 2015, Lobamba: Swaziland 0-0 Nigeria
- Nov. 17, 2015, Port Harcourt: Nigeria 2-0 Swaziland
- Oct. 9, 2016, Ndola: Zambia 1-2 Nigeria
- Nov. 9, Uyo: Nigeria ?-? Algeria
FROM FAYEMI TO IHEANACHO: IT’S 167 GOALS
Pa Dejo Fayemi, the octogenarian now living Ibadan holds the record of scoring Nigeria’s first World Cup qualifying goal. He did that when his 50th minute strike reduced the tally to 2-1 in an eventual 4-1 loss to the Black Stars of Ghana in Accra on August 28, 1960.
Fayemi scored again in the return leg match in Lagos that ended 2-2. Till date, Nigeria’s number of goals has risen to 167 making the Super Eagles the second team behind Tunisia as side with most goals in all-time ranking of scorers among African teams in the World Cup qualifying series.
But on January 7, 2001 in Port Harcourt, Nigeria became the first African side to hit the 100-goal mark in the World Cup qualifiers following a 3-0 defeat of Sudan.
The historic 100th goal was scored by in the 57th minute by Victor Agali when he raised the score line to 2-0. Obafemi Martin’s goal against Kenya in Nairobi which brought score line to 1-1 on the road to South Africa 2010 was Nigeria’s 150th goal since that of Fayemi in 1960.
NIGERIA’S WORLD CUP QUALIFYING MATCHES’ MILESTONE GOALS
No. | Scorer | Match | Goal | Date |
1st | Dejo Fayemi | Ghana 4-1 Nigeria | 2-1 | August 28, 1960 |
10th | Sam Garba Okoye | Ghana 1-1 Nigeria | 0-1 | May 18, 1969 |
20th | Yakubu Mambo | Nigeria 2-1 Congo | 2-1 | August 2, 1969 |
30th | Thompson Usiyen | Nigeria 4-0 Cote d’Ivoire | 1-0 | July 10, 1977 |
40th | Godwin Uwelimo | Egypt 1-3 Nigeria | 1-3 | October 21.1977 |
50th | Humphery Edobor | Nigeria 3-0 Liberia | 2-0 | October 10, 1984 |
60th | Wole Odegbami | Nigeria 1-0 Gabon | 1-0 | January 7, 1989 |
70th | Rashidi Yekini | Nigeria 4-0 South Africa | 4-0 | January 7, 1989 |
80th | Rashidi Yekini | Nigeria 4-0 Cote d’Ivoire | 4-0 | September 25, 1993 |
90th | Emma Amuneke | Nigeria 3-0 Kenya | 2-0 | June 7, 1997 |
100th | Victor Agali | Nigeria 3-0 Sudan | 2-0 | January 27, 2001 |
110th | Victor Agali | Nigeria 3-0 Ghana | 1-0 | July 29, 2001 |
120th | Nwankwo Kanu | Nigeria 2-0 Gabon | 2-0 | Mar 26, 2005 |
130th | Obafemi Martins | Nigeria 5-1 Zimbabwe | 3-0 | October 8, 2005 |
140th | Christian Obodo | Nigeria 4-1 Sierra Leone | 1-0 | June 6, 2008 |
150th | Obafemi Martins | Kenya 2-3 Nigeria | 1-1 | October 14, 2009 |
160th | Emma Emenike | Ethiopia 1-2 Nigeria | 1-1 | October 13, 2013 |
167th | Kelechi Iheanacho | Zambia 1-2 Nigeria | 2-0 |
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