Nigeria

Nigeria (1-0) Bosnia

Nigeria vs. Bosnia and Herzegovina: Who Will Be No. 2? (UPDATE: It’s Nigeria)

By Andrew Palczewski   |


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Bosnia Herzegovina had a strong showing against Argentina. Will they have one against Nigeria?

UPDATE: Bosnia couldn’t bring their powerful play against Argentina to their match against Ghana, losing the match 1-0 and losing their chance at advancing past group play.

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With Bosnia and Herzegovina losing their last match, and Nigeria playing to a draw in theirs, you might expect Nigeria to be the favorite in a matchup between the two teams.

But according to most experts, it’s the exact opposite.

Even though Bosnia lost their opening match, their strong play against powerhouse Argentina left many talking about how they could emerge as the number two team in Group F. Nigeria, meanwhile, was expected to score against Iran in their first match, but didn’t. Further complicating things for the Super Eagles is the loss of star player Godfrey Oboabona to injury.

Can Nigeria overcome injuries and odds to win? Or will Bosnia take the second spot in Group F? Find out today at 6 PM ET (10 PM UTC).

For play-by-play, minute-by-minute coverage of every ball touch, throw-in, direct kick, indirect kick, yellow card, red card, corner kick, goal kick and every other possible football feat in every World Cup match, tap into VOA’s multilingual, multinational analysis.

Click here to follow the action live, or follow along on Facebook, or on Twitter with #WorldCupVOA.

And for even more exclusive VOA coverage with a special focus on Africa’s national teams, check out VOA’s Francophone blog.

Iran (0-0) Nigeria

Iran vs. Nigeria: Will One of Their Streaks End? (UPDATE: Nope!)

By Andrew Palczewski   |
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Iran

UPDATE: And it’s a tie! Not only is this the first tie match of the 2014 World Cup, but it means Nigeria and Iran’s winless streaks at the World Cup continue.

Original post:

In our post on the Germany/Portugal match, we said that World Cup matches don’t get much more competitive (Edit: Germany ended up routing Portugal 4-0; hopefully Iran vs. Nigeria will be a more exciting match).

Well, how’s this for competitive: Iran and Nigeria are separated by just ONE POINT in the FIFA World Rankings (Iran is 43rd in the world with 641 points; Nigeria is 44th with 640). But Nigeria and Iran aren’t only playing win the match – they’re playing to break some unlucky streaks: Nigeria hasn’t won in its last eight World Cup matches, while Iran hasn’t won a World Cup match since 1998. With two teams this close, with so much on the line, there’s no doubt that this match should make for some must-watch football when they meet at 3 PM ET (7 PM UDT).

For play-by-play, minute-by-minute coverage of every ball touch, throw-in, direct kick, indirect kick, yellow card, red card, corner kick, goal kick and every other possible football feat in every World Cup match, tap into VOA’s multilingual, multinational analysis.

Click here to follow the action live, or follow along on Facebook, or on Twitter with #WorldCupVOA.

And for even more exclusive VOA coverage with a special focus on Africa’s national teams, check out VOA’s Francophone blog.

Who Will Win the 2014 World Cup?

By Andrew Palczewski   |

It’s finally here – today marks the start of the 2014 World Cup! The tournament kicks off with the opening ceremony at 6 PM UTC, followed by the first match at 8 PM UTC: Croatia against the host nation, Brazil.

World Cup mural.

All eyes will be on Brazil in the coming weeks, but not just the country. Brazil’s national team is considered a favorite to win it all – after all, they are on their home turf (literally). But there are many other good teams that could make a run at the title: Germany, Argentina, Portugal, and Spain, the 2010 World Cup winners. Or perhaps an underdog like Nigeria or Ghana will make it out of the group stage and have a chance at advancing.

Who’s your favorite to win the World Cup? Comment below to tell us who you want to win, who you think will win, and which matches you’re looking forward to. And of course, keep up with all the latest World Cup news here at VOAFootball.com, and on Facebook and Twitter.

The Super Eagles

Nigeria By The Numbers

By Mike Eckel   |

Le Nigeria en chiffres - Nigeria World Cup

4

the number of times the country has appeared in the World Cup. Nigeria made its debut in 1994, then participated again in 1998, when they rose to 16th place before being eliminated. Forgetting the past, in 2010, the Super Eagles returned with a stronger, more efficient team, led by coach Stephen Keshi.

97

The number on national team captain Joseph Yobo’s jersey. After an absence due to an injury, the Nigerian defender, who grew up in Norwich City, is back in a leadership role and hopes to lead his team as far as possible in this competition.

3

The number of African championships they have won.  The Nigerian team is actually the African champion after its victory in CAN 2013 finals against Burkina Faso in South Africa. As African Champions, the Super Eagles hope to represent the continent valiantly at the Brazil World Cup (as does Cameroon, Ghana, Algeria and and and…)

37

The sum of goals made by the best shooter in the history of the Super Eagles: Rashidi Yekini.  Before his death in May 2012, the Nigerian striker was selected by the national team 58 times.  He made 37 goals for the team between 1984 and 1998.

10

The most number of goals made by the Super Eagles in a single match. That was in 1959, against the Dahomey (Benin) during the finals of the Nkrumah Cup in Lagos. Benin scored one goal (that’s right, 1!)

 

(this post courtesy VOA’s French to Africa Service and its World Cup blog. check it out at http://football.lavoixdelamerique.com)