Nigeria broke their World Cup misfortune in 1994 when they finally qualified for the biggest soccer event on planet earth.
This was after several futile attempts by the then Green Eagles to grab the elusive ticket. The closest attempt was in 1978, when an unfortunate own goal by defender Godwin Odiye in a qualifying match against Tunisia, sent Nigeria out of the running to represent Africa in the 1978 Mon-dial.
Before that, the team had secured a 0-0 draw against the Tunisian Cartage Eagles in Tunisia, and all they needed was a win to secure their first ticket. That was not to be, as they received the scare of the life from him, when dependent defender Godwin Odiye headed an own goal into his own net.
The Eagles’ subsequent efforts to qualify for the 1982 Mon-dial hosted by Spain yielded no positive results, being denied the lone ticket by the Algerian Desert Warriors, who defeated the Green Eagles in their own backyard 2 -0 and capped it off with a 2-1 defeat in distant Algiers, thus ending Nigeria’s World Cup dream.
In 1986, the national team once again failed to qualify for the Global party, which was hosted by Mexico. Once again they fell to the higher powers of the North Africans. This time, it was the same Tunisians who denied the Eagles the prized ticket eight years ago, who once again inflicted a 2-0 defeat on the Green Eagles in Tunisia, to put an end to their World Cup ambitions. History was no different in 1990, when the Super Eagles took a heavy blow from their close neighbors Cameroon.
Needing at least a draw in their last group match, the Super Eagles were beaten 1-0 by arch-rivals Cameroon. The Italy 1990 qualifier would be best remembered for taking the life of enterprising Nigerian midfielder Samuel Okwaraji, who was killed in the World Cup clash with Angola’s Palancas Negras on August 12, 1989 at the Estadio Nacional in Lagos.
Nigeria finally heralded their arrival on football’s biggest stage, the World Cup in 1994, when they reached the world cup for the first time, after many previous failed attempts. They began their journey to their first World Cup appearance, with a 4-0 thrashing of South Africa’s Bafana Bafana in their first World Cup qualifying game.
However, they suffered a narrow 1-0 defeat at the hands of Congo in their second World Cup qualifier. In the second leg of their encounter with South Africa’s Bafana Bafana billed as ‘the battle for Johannesburg’, the Eagles braved the high altitude to record an impressive barren draw before a packed crowd at Johannesburg Soccer City.
Nigeria climbed to the group stage with a resounding 2-0 victory over Congo, in the last game of the first phase of the qualifiers.
Paired in Group A alongside Ivory Coast and Algeria, Nigeria began their final World Cup journey on a shaky note, as they suffered a 2-1 loss at the hands of Ivory Coast, in an away match. , before regaining some hope. of the classification with a resounding defeat of Algeria by 4-1. The floodgate of goal avalanche was opened by one Austin Okocha, who captivated the Algerians with some marvelous dribbling skills and capped off his brilliant performance with an impressive free-kick goal. Ivory Coast were next to fall, and they went home empty-handed after suffering a 4-1 defeat at the hands of the Super Eagles.
It was a fairytale adventure, and one match was between Nigeria and a ticket to the World Cup. In the battle for Algiers, the senior national team needed a win or at least a draw to seal a ticket to the World Cup.
Before a vociferous and hostile crowd in Algiers, the Super Eagles got the result they needed when Finidi George equalized for Nigeria after the Algerians had taken the lead, to force Algeria’s Desert Warriors to a 1-1 draw.
It was a historic result, as Nigeria booked their ticket to appear at the world’s biggest football party for the first time. All over Nigeria there was celebration and the whole country joined in their moment of ecstasy.
