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)