Nigeria World Cup 2018 profile: Ones to watch, best bets and more

Football

Fri June 15, 2018 · 6y ago

The Super Eagles will compete in their seventh World Cup finals, and have a few star players that could see them provide a shock on the world stage.

Nigeria Factfile

FIFA World Ranking: 47th
Sky Bet outright winner odds: 200/1
Best Bet: Kelechi Iheanacho to be Nigeria's top goalscorer at 11/2
World Cup appearances: 5
Best World Cup finish: Round of 16 (1994, 1998 and 2014)
Nickname: Super Eagles

Head coach - Gernot Rohr: The 62-year-old is well versed in African football having coached the national sides of Niger, Gabon and Burkina Faso before taking up the role with Nigeria in August 2016.

Legend - Jay-Jay Okocha: Every trick in the book was in the Okocha locker, and the ultra-skilful playmaker is possibly the most talented African player to have ever laced up his boots. 'So good they named him twice' was the phrase as Okocha developed skills hardly seen before, skills that few players could replicate.

Star Man - Victor Moses: The Chelsea man struggled to establish himself at Stamford Bridge but after a few loan spells he found his place as a converted wing-back in their title-winning side, and he's taken that form into international football as he was voted his country's Player of the Year this year.

Did you know? Nigeria has the largest population of any country in Africa with over 180,000,000 people.

Fun Fact: Argentina and Nigeria are getting to know a lot about each other in World Cups - having been drawn together in the same group in five of their last six World Cup outings.

Qualifying: Nigeria won Group B in African qualifying, finishing five points ahead of Zambia and six clear of Cameroon.

Fixtures: Croatia (8pm, June 16, Kaliningrad), Iceland (4pm, June 22, Volgograd), Argentina (7pm, June 26, St Petersburg)

Nigeria squad

Goalkeepers: Francis Uzoho (Deportivo La Coruna), Ikechukwu Ezenwa (Enyimba), Daniel Akpeyi (Chippa United).

Defenders: William Troost-Ekong and Abdullahi Shehu (Bursaspor), Tyronne Ebuehi (Ado Den Haag), Elderson Echiejile (Cercle Brugge KSV), Bryan Idowu (Amkar Perm), Chidozie Awaziem (Nantes FC), Leon Balogun (Brighton), Kenneth Omeruo (Kasimpasa).

Midfielders: Mikel John Obi (Tianjin Teda), Ogenyi Onazi (Trabzonspor), Wilfred Ndidi (Leicester City), Oghenekaro Etebo (Las Palmas), John Ogu (Hapoel Be'er Sheva), Joel Obi (Torino, Italy).

Forwards: Ahmed Musa (CSKA Moscow), Kelechi Iheanacho (Leicester City), Victor Moses (Chelsea), Odion Ighalo (Changchun Yatai), Alex Iwobi (Arsenal), Simeon Nwankwo (Crotone).

Nigeria Profile

One of Africa's best-represented countries at the World Cup, one behind Cameroon, Nigeria know what the world's best football tournament is all about.

Their head coach is German national Gernot Rohr. He is an ex-Bayern Munich and Bordeaux player who has managed a host of French clubs, as well as several other African nations.

Mikel John Obi celebrates after scoring for Nigeria

Chelsea's Victor Moses was Nigeria’s top goalscorer in the CAF qualification, scoring three goals.

Who to watch out for?

The Nigerians boast a few high-profile names including Arsenal’s Alex Iwobi, Moses and Leicester duo Kelechi Iheanacho and Wilfred Ndidi.

Mikel John Obi (above) will be expected to put in a captain’s performance to inspire the relatively young Super Eagles. Mikel has the ability to control games, and will be a senior character this summer.

How did they qualify?

Nigeria topped Group B in CAF qualification, winning four, drawing one, and losing one. Their only defeat technically came to Algeria, after they were handed a 3-0 loss due to fielding an ineligible player in their initial 1-1 draw.

Any interesting facts about Nigeria?

Nigeria has the largest population of any country in Africa, with over 180,000,000 people. It is often referred to as the ‘Giant of Africa’.

The name Nigeria originates from one of the longest rivers in Africa, which runs through the country, the Niger.

Nigeria captain Mikel John Obi was known as John Obi Mikel for a long time, but legally changed his name in 2016.

Any famous football moments?

Reaching fifth in the FIFA World Rankings was a particularly proud moment for the African nation.

The Super Eagles have won the Africa Cup of Nations three times. Those victories came in 1980, 1994 and most recently in 2013, beating Burkina Faso 1-0 in Johannesburg.

They also won gold in the 1996 Olympic Games held in the USA.