Even though they may be crumbling at the moment, the Super Eagles of Nigeria used to be the strongest African national team by a mile- and that was how they earned the nickname “Giant of Africa.”...CONTINUE READING THE FULL ARTICLE>>>
In fact, in April 1994, the Nigerian national football team was ranked 5th by FIFA- the highest FIFA ranking position ever achieved by an African football team.
That year, they won the AFCON after coming from 1-0 down to beat Zambia 2-1 in the final, thanks to a brace by Emmanuel Amunike.
They made their World Cup debut at USA ’94 and finished top of Group D, which had Argentina, Bulgaria and Greece, with six points.
They clashed with Italy in the round of 16. Roberto Baggio’s 89th minute equalizer cancelled Emmanuel Amunike’s opener. Baggio then converted a penalty kick in extra time to knock them out of the competition.
It will likely take a very long time before another African team displaces Nigeria as the highest-ever ranked team by FIFA. Hopefully, if things turn around for the Super Eagles in future, they will be the team to break that record, which they set themselves.
