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Tag: Super Eagles

  • AFCON 2025: Super Eagles drawn in Group D alongside, Benin, Rwanda, Libya (Full Fixture)

    AFCON 2025: Super Eagles drawn in Group D alongside, Benin, Rwanda, Libya (Full Fixture)

    Nigeria’s Super Eagles have been drawn in group D of the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers.

    The Super Eagles will slug it out with neighbour Benin- Republic, Rwanda and Libya.

    The draws were held inside Super Sport Studio in South Africa on Thursday afternoon.

    The draw features 48 countries divided into 12 groups of four teams each, with the top two teams from eleven groups qualifying directly for the finals scheduled from December 21, 2025, to January 18, 2026.

    CAF has stated that the 2025 AFCON will hold during the FIFA international windows of September, October, and November this year.

     

    Group A

    Tunisia, Madagascar, Comoros, Gambia

    Group B

    Morocco (hosts), Gabon, Central African Republic, Lesotho

    Group C

    Algeria, Equatorial Guinea, Togo, Liberia

    Group D

    Nigeria, Benin, Rwanda, Libya

    Group F

    Ghana, Angola, Sudan, Niger

    Group G

    Ivory Coast (holders), Zambia, Sierra Leone, Chad

    Group H

    Democratic Republic of Congo, Guinea, Tanzania, Ethiopia

    Group I

    Mali, Mozambique, Guinea-Bissau, Eswatini

    Group J

    Cameroon, Namibia, Kenya, Zimbabwe

    Group K

    South Africa, Uganda, Congo Brazzaville, South Sudan

    Group L

    Senegal, Burkina Faso, Malawi, Burundi

    Dates

    Sept 2-10: Matchdays 1, 2

    Oct 7-15: Matchdays 3, 4

    Nov 11-15: Matchdays 5, 6

    Winners and runners-up qualify from each group except that containing Morocco, who will take part to gain competitive match practice. Morocco qualify automatically as hosts so only the best placed of the other three teams in their section will secure a place.

    The tournament will kickstart on December 21 2025 to Jan 18 2026 in the North African country of Morocco

     

  • AFCON 2025: Super Eagles to know opponents Thursday [See teams]

    AFCON 2025: Super Eagles to know opponents Thursday [See teams]

    Three-time champions and five-time runners-up, Nigeria are expected to know their opponents for the qualification race of the 35th Africa Cup of Nations finals on Thursday.

    The draw for the 2025 AFCON would be conducted in Johannesburg, South Africa.

    Ademola Olajire, Director of Communications at the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF), stated this in a statement on Tuesday in Abuja.

    The draw will be held inside the SuperSport studio in South Africa’s commercial and economic capital.

    It will serve the 48 countries into 12 groups of four teams each; with the top two teams in eleven of the groups qualifying directly to the finals, scheduled for Dec. 21, 2025 to Jan. 18, 2026.

    While the 12th group (which has host nation Morocco) will see Morocco qualifying (no matter the position in which they finish) alongside one other team.

    The qualifying matches will be played over the FIFA windows of September, October and November this year.

    All of Nigeria’s opponents in the ongoing 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifying race, Benin Republic, Lesotho, Rwanda, South Africa and Zimbabwe, are all in Thursday’s draw.

    ALL THE 48 TEAMS IN THE DRAW:

    POT 1: Morocco, Senegal, Egypt, Cote d’Ivoire, Nigeria, Tunisia, Algeria, Cameroon, Mali, South Africa, DR Congo, Ghana

    POT 2: Cape Verde, Burkina Faso, Guinea, Gabon, Equatorial Guinea, Zambia, Benin Republic, Angola, Uganda, Namibia, Mozambique, Madagascar

    POT 3: Kenya, Mauritania, Congo, Tanzania, Guinea Bissau, Libya, Comoros, Togo, Sudan, Sierra Leone, Malawi, Central African Republic

    POT 4: Niger Republic, Zimbabwe, Rwanda, The Gambia, Burundi, Liberia, Ethiopia, Botswana, Lesotho, Eswatini, South Sudan, Chad.

  • What Mikel Obi did to me – Sunday Oliseh

    What Mikel Obi did to me – Sunday Oliseh

    Former Super Eagles coach, Sunday Oliseh, has shared his experience with former Chelsea midfielder John Obi Mikel during the early days of his appointment. Oliseh, a former Nigerian midfielder, discussed the situation in an interview on Elegbete TV on YouTube.

     

    Oliseh explained that Mikel completely ignored his efforts to communicate, despite warnings from the Nigerian Football Federation (NFF) against inviting the Chelsea star.

     

    “I sent messages to John Obi Mikel, but he never answered my calls. He never called me back. He completely ignored me and played the big ego,” Oliseh stated.

     

    Appointed as Super Eagles manager in July 2015, Oliseh remained in the position until February 2016. He recounted a specific incident where he traveled to London with his assistant to meet Mikel and Victor Moses.

     

    “I went to London with my assistant to speak with Mikel and Victor Moses. I arranged a meeting at the hotel for both teammates from the same club. Moses came to the meeting, but Mikel refused to show up,” Oliseh revealed.

  • What made me resign as Super Eagles coach in 2016 – Sunday Oliseh

    What made me resign as Super Eagles coach in 2016 – Sunday Oliseh

    Former Super Eagles midfielder Sunday Oliseh has revealed the reasons behind his resignation as the national team’s coach in 2016. In an interview on Elegbete TV on YouTube, Oliseh discussed the challenges he faced during his tenure.

     

    Appointed as head coach in July 2015, Oliseh resigned from the position in February 2016. The former Juventus midfielder cited a lack of support from his employers, players, and the media as the primary reasons for his departure.

     

    “I coached the Super Eagles for fourteen games, winning four and losing only two. One of the losses was a friendly against Congo in Belgium.

     

    “After being unpaid for four months, and my assistants for six months, I fell ill and received no support. I spent thousands of dollars on medical treatment and was mocked by some media for my illness. I resigned because I didn’t get support.

    When I left, Nigeria was still on track to qualify for the 2017 Nations Cup, needing to beat Egypt to qualify,” Oliseh explained.

  • I regret my mistake that led to Nigeria’s elimination from 2022 AFCON – Maduka Okoye

    I regret my mistake that led to Nigeria’s elimination from 2022 AFCON – Maduka Okoye

    Maduka Okoye, Super Eagles goalkeeper has revealed that he regrets his error that cost the national team in the round of 16 at the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations.

    Recall that the Super Eagles  under the tutelage of  Augustine Eguavoen, enjoyed a fine start to the tournament, gliding past Egypt, Guinea Bissau, and Sudan with ease scooping 9 points from possible 9.

    This gave fans hope of the Eagles going all the way to claim a fourth AFCON title.

    However, they were defeated by Tunisia, who were struggling with injuries in the next round.

    Okoye misjudged a shot from Youssef Msakni, with the ball creeping past him and went into the net.

    Alex Iwobi also got sent off seven minutes after he was brought on, resulting in outrage on social media.

    It was the last time Okoye played for Nigeria, as he either was not called up or he watched from the bench.

    In an interview with Oma, Okoye opened up on the incident.

    He said: “At that moment, I told myself I should have done better. It pains me till today, to be honest.

    “You could see it was a mistake because I had to keep the ball out of the goal. If I want to play at Inter Milan, then I have to do better in such situations.

    “I’ve been training hard, improving in the last two years because I don’t want things like that to happen again.

    “Mistakes happen, last week, Manuel Neuer, who is one of the best, made a mistake. It’s part of the game, and it was hard for me as a young boy to go through it after it happened.

    “I’m not just talking about what I read on social media, it’s more about the feeling of letting your teammates down, your family down, and letting your country down.

    “At this stage, I’m not even reading the nonsense on social media anymore. Some people still talk bad about Cristiano Ronaldo despite his achievements.

    “People will always say something bad about you. I know myself that I didn’t do good in that situation, and I know that I let my teammates and my country down in that situation.

    “And I’m still to this day unhappy and sad about it, and I wish I could do differently, but it happened and I learned from my mistake.”

  • FIFA Rankings: Super Eagles drop to fifth in Africa

    FIFA Rankings: Super Eagles drop to fifth in Africa

    Nigeria’s Super Eagles have dropped  eight places in the latest FIFA rankings released in the month of June.

    Super Eagles moved to 38th globally following a dismal outing in the race for the 2026 World Cup.

     

    Recall Nigeria lost to the Benin Republic for the first time and had before then drawn South Africa – all games in the 2026 World Cup Qualifiers for Africa – leaving their hopes of qualifying for the mundial a difficult task.

     

    In FIFA’s latest ranking released on Thursday, the Super Eagles are now 5th in Africa, falling two steps behind on the continental pecking order.

    Morocco moved up one place as the best team in Africa, placing 12th globally. They are followed by Senegal (18th), Egypt (36th), and Cote d’Ivoire (37th) in second, third, and fourth respectively on the continental rankings.

     

    Argentina, France, Belgium, Brazil, and England in that order occupy the first five positions globally.

  • Super Eagles drop position in new FIFA ranking

    Super Eagles drop position in new FIFA ranking

    Nigeria’s Super Eagles have dropped by eight points from 30th to 38th in the FIFA World Ranking for June after lacklustre performances in the World Cup Qualifying matches.

    According to the ranking table released by the world football governing body on Thursday, Nigeria dropped from 1,520.27 points it had in April to 1,498.93.

    The drop on the global stage also reflected on the continental stage as the Nigerian team also dropped from the 3rd position to the 5th behind Morocco, Senegal, Egypt and Cote d ‘Ivoire.

    The Eagles played a 1-1 draw against Bafana Bafana of South Africa in Uyo, and suffered a 2-1 defeat to Benin Republic in Abidjan, Cote d`Ivoire.

    On the global scene, no fewer than 187 national team bouts have been contested since the last ranking in April, and the throng of changes in the latest standings comes as no surprise.

    The top three, however, remain unshakeable. Argentina (1st) retains their place at the summit, with France (2nd) and Belgium (3rd) hot on their heels.

    But there is movement behind them, as Brazil (4th, up 1) and England (5th, down 1) swap places.

    Portugal (6th), the Netherlands (7th) and Spain (8th) consolidated  their spots in the top 10, while  Croatia (9th, up 1) overtook Italy (10th, down 1), which nonetheless held onto a place among the leading pack.

  • BREAKING: NFF breaks silence on reported ban of Osimhen from Super Eagles

    BREAKING: NFF breaks silence on reported ban of Osimhen from Super Eagles

    The Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) has opened up on reportedly banning Victor Osimhen from the Super Eagles team over his outburst against Finidi George.

    The NFF described as outright falsehood the reports that Osimhen had been banned from the team, for his social media outburst a few days ago.

    Reports had emerged in some online publications on Wednesday that the football-governing body had slammed a ban on Super Eagles’ forward.

    However, NFF General Secretary, Dr. Mohammed Sanusi expressed amazement at the reports, saying the Federation has neither instructed a process nor has a process been concluded to ban the player from the National Team.

    “The NFF hereby implores the media to join hands with the body to positively resolve issues and then focus on the big picture all the time, rather than needlessly escalate certain matters.

    “There was no official communication from the NFF, yet some persons have gone to town to talk about a ban on Osimhen from the National Team. This is not good at all.

    “Our focus presently is to resolve all matters around the Super Eagles and be able to look ahead with confidence to the 2025 AFCON qualifiers and the remaining six matches of the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification series.

    “This is not the time to spread falsehood and foul the public space the more,” a statement by Sanusi reads.

  • Euro 2024: UEFA set to sanction Serbia over fans’ unruly behaviour

    Euro 2024: UEFA set to sanction Serbia over fans’ unruly behaviour

    UEFA has launched disciplinary proceedings against the Football Association of Serbia (FSS) over alleged inappropriate behaviour by its fans after the country’s Euro 2024 match against England.

    Some of the charges against the FSS include “throwing of objects” and “transmitting a provocative message unfit for a sports event”, the European football body said in a statement.

    According to UEFA’s Control, Ethics and Disciplinary Body (CEDB) a decision will be arrived at in due course.

    Meanwhile, Kosovo and Serbia filed complaints against each other with UEFA over the same match.

    Serbia said a Kosovo journalist allegedly made an Albanian nationalist sign while the Kosovo Football Federation (FFK) complained over what it called “racist messages” from Serbia fans.

    Serbia fans displayed “flags, slogans and chants… with political, chauvinistic and racist messages against Kosovo”, an FFK statement said.

    “The unhindered display of such messages… at a big event like Euro 2024 is senseless and absurd,” it said and called for strict disciplinary measures against its Serbian peer, labelling it a “repeat offender”.

    Both Kosovo and Serbia said that the incidents occurred before and during the Euro 2024 match between Serbia and England on Sunday, which England won 1-0.

    Recall that ties between the two Balkan neighbours are very tense and it often spill over into the sporting world especially football.

    A decade after the war between Kosovo independence-seeking ethnic Albanian rebels and Serbian forces — that killed around 13,000 people, mostly ethnic Albanians — Pristina declared independence from Belgrade in 2008.

    However, Serbia still does not recognise the move that was accepted by around 100 countries.

    Despite Serbia’s lobbying against its admittance, Kosovo became a full-fledged member of UEFA and FIFA in 2016.

    But Kosovo didn’t  qualify for Euro 2024.

  • La Liga: Super Eagles player, Chidera Ejuke joins Sevilla on a three year deal

    La Liga: Super Eagles player, Chidera Ejuke joins Sevilla on a three year deal

    Super Eagles player, Chidera Ejuke has joined La Liga  outfit, Sevilla on a three-year deal.

    Ejuke put pen to paper on Monday, June 17 but the details of his contract have been concealed.

    Ejuke joined  Sevilla on a free transfer after leaving Russian club, CSKA Moscow at the end of last season.

    The 26-year-old spent last season on loan at Belgian Pro League outfit, Royal Antwerp.

    The former Heerenveen player scored five goals and provided six assists in 39 appearances for Belgian side last season.

    Ejuke also played for Antwerp in the UEFA Champions League last season.

    Ejuke is an attacker midfielder who can also play on the flanks.

    He has been capped eight times by Nigeria.