Joe Aribo and Semi Ajayi are not supposed to be starters for Nigeria’s Super Eagles, but after two excellent efforts in recent weeks, including a 1-1 draw against Brazil this past weekend, coach Gernot Rohr will have much to consider.
When they both started the last friendly against Ukraine, it didn’t look anything out of the ordinary. Aribo and Ajayi did so by default, filling in for two players who had withdrawn from injury. Aribo for Wilfred Ndidi and Ajayi for Kenneth Omeruo.
One month on and…
In 1996, Brazil had high hopes of claiming their first Olympic football gold medal.
They had good reason.
Most Brazil squads are packed with talent, but this particular roster was so loaded that it was almost like a constellation of stars, curre…
And so the unthinkable happened. A penalty shootout defeat by Cape Verde saw Nigeria eliminated from the 2019 WAFU Cup of Nations in disgrace.
Nigeria looked likely to avoid the disgrace of the unwanted record when Ibrahim Sunusi scored his scra…
Nigeria’s Phase 1 defeat to Togo at the WAFU Cup of Nations saw them drop to the Plate competition, and now they must beat Cape Verde to salvage any kind of goodwill from fans.
A win in the match in Thies, Senegal, on Saturday night is a minimum requirement for what is essentially a Super Eagles B slash C team, made up of domestic-based players trying to reach the senior team.
Coach Imama Amapakabo, on deck instead of regular head honcho Gernot Rohr, was quick to take responsibility after his side…
ESPN FC’s Colin Udoh previews the WAFU Cup of Nations and discusses the tournament’s recent revival. To watch the WAFU Cup, subscribe to ESPN+.
In the past, luck has not really been on the side of Nigeria players featuring at the WAFU Cup of Nations while nursing Super Eagles ambitions, with Ahmed Musa the only real success story.
The tournament, on the go in Senegal for the next two weeks, caters to home-based talents in West African countries, much like the CHAN tournament does on a continental scale.
The wannabe Eagles’ road is made even harder by head coach Gernot Rohr’s seeming disdain for players in the Nigerian local league, as he…
Nigeria’s latest squad call-up once again brought disappointment for admirers of QPR’s Ebere Eze.
On Thursday, the Super Eagles named their 23-man squad to face Brazil in a prestigious friendly game scheduled for mid-October, with just one new addiction to the list in Slavia Prague’s Peter Olayinka.
It meant that, once again, there was no space for the 21-year old, who has shown such good form that there has been reports he could be an English Premier League player sooner rather than later, with…
The WAFU Cup of Nations is upon us again, and Nigeria, as usual, will be contenders for the title. The Super Eagles B side has been to the final at each of the three editions they have contested, winning once.
In doing so, they have thrown up a …
In 1992, when the UEFA Champions Cup became the UEFA Champions League, Nigerian Daniel Amokachi made history by becoming the first player to score in the revamped competition as Club Brugge beat CSKA Moscow 1-0.
Twenty-seven years later, players of Nigerian origins are making history again. This time, there will be at least one player of Nigerian heritage in every group of Europe’s elite competition
Group A has Dennis Bonaventure, who made his Super Eagles debut against Ukraine, and David Okereke….
Ghana may be one title better, but no other country has made more appearances in the West African Football Union (WAFU) Cup of Nations final than Nigeria.
Of the four finals played, the Super Eagles have contested three, winning one; Ghana and Senegal are tied on two each. The only final that Nigeria missed was in 2013, when they failed to attend the tournament. Incidentally, one of their final losses was to Togo, their opening-day opponents at this year’s tournament in Senegal; but we will return…
Nwankwo Kanu, Finidi George, Sunday Oliseh, and Tijani Babangida are four famous Nigerians who made their marks at Amsterdam ArenA, and Chidera Ejuke wants to do the same… but not for Ajax, for Heerenveen.
While the four Super Eagles legends played for the home side, with Kanu and Finidi helping them to UEFA Champions League titles, 21-year-old Ejuke has little by way of credentials.
He’s not got a senior Nigeria cap, and came to the Eredivisie from Norwegian top flight side Valerenga, but is…