Appearances: 4 (Last appearance in 2002)
Current FIFA Ranking (As of March 3): 21
Captain: Nwankwo Kanu (Foward)
Leading Scorer in Qualifying: 2 players with 4 goals: Victor Obinna (Striker), Ikechukwu Uche (Striker)
Key Injuries: No significant injuries.
Key retirements since 2006: Jay-Jay Okocha (Midfielder)
Team Overview: The Super Eagles come into this World Cup with high hopes after qualifying as the leader of its group.They possess a high-powered and extremely fast group of forwards and a solid defense. However, the team could run into two problems. The first is that they are a very young squad. They have only one player over the age of 30, captain Nwankwo Kanu who doesn't even start. Another problem they face is that they just changed their head coach.
Previous coach Shaibu Amodu was fired and on Feb. 27, Lars Lagerback was hired to lead the Super Eagles. He is the former head coach of the Swedish team, which failed to qualify for this year's World Cup. He will have to organize the team and find what group of players he likes quickly because there are only a few tune-up games left before the start of the World Cup.
In goal will be 27-year-old Vincent Enyeama, an excellent keeper. Currently a player in the Israeli Premier League, Enyeama is the reigning Israeli player of the year. He provided the goalkeeping that was necessary to put Nigeria through qualifying by putting up clean sheets in eight of his ten games. He will have to be on top of his game with Argentina and South Korea in his group.
Enyeama's backline is difficult to get through. They helped Enyeama post those eight clean sheets and they have some scoring ability in them as well. The group will be lead by Joseph Yobo, a six-foot-two beast in the middle of the defense. He provided two goals for his squad during qualifying and is an obvious target on set pieces. Yobo is the second most capped player on the team and will be the future captain when Kunu retires.
Around Yobo will be a mix of players, but the most interesting will be Taye Taiwo. The 24-year-old left back has already scored 7 goals in his 31 appearances for the Super Eagles and was the 2006 Young African Player of the Year. Like his teammates, he has quick speed and is strong in the air. He is excellent at overlapping and strikes from his left foot are deadly. He will be one of the men to take the free and corner kicks for his team.
Midfield is the position of weakness for the Nigerians but the bright spot is John Obi Mikel. At 22-years-old, Mikel is already the highest profile player on the team and he will be the main cog in the offense. He will be expected to use his playmaking ability to free up his forwards. He is also a solid defensive player and will be tough to get through. He is known for his tough tackles which can, at times, cross into vicious challenges. He has not been called upon by his club team, Chelsea, to be an offensive force but Nigeria will need him to be.
The group of forwards for the Super Eagles is, collectively, the fastest in the world. Their two leading scorers in qualifying, Obinna and Uche, are actually substitutes when the complete squad is on hand. Peter Odemwingie and Obafemi Martins will be the starting strikers. Both are similar players: Agile, fast and small guys who have the ability to put the ball in the net. They will rely on center forward Yakubu Aiyegbeni to hold the ball and provide space for them to run. The group can be explosive but they will have to find consistency that, so far, they have lacked.
Player to Watch: Obafemi Martins
Martins might be the fastest player in the world and is the goalscorer that Nigeria need. to do well. In just 28 games for his national team, he has cored 16 goals. This is 5th most all-time among Nigerians and at just 25-years-old, he has the potential to become their most prolific goalscorer ever. He led the team in 2006 World Cup qualifying with eight goals and scored twice in their final game against Kenya to secure a spot in the World Cup.
He has a powerful shot and despite his height (5'7"), is a very good aerial player. However, he is prone to having off days and against stiffer defenses, especially group member Greece, could struggle to find room. He will need Mikel to be on top of his game and feed him the ball often in order for Nigeria to succeed.
Prediction: Second round loss to France
The final squad will not be announced until June 10 but here is a small list of players in the running to make the team.
Match Schedule
Sports Illustrated Profile
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