Sports

Photos: 10 Painful Finals Nigeria Has Lost On The International Scene

Published

4 years ago

Mar 2, 2021.

Samuel David

The pain of defeat is something no one wants to feel but ends up being inevitable.
Over the years, Nigeria has lost various finals across different tournaments and age grades.
These matches are assessed below by EKO HOT BLOG

1 Nigeria v Cameroon (1984)

This was the first time both nations were meeting in the final, and goals from N’Djeya, Abega, and Ebongue saw Cameroon come out 3-1 winner, despite Nigeria taking the lead in the 10th minute.

2 Nigeria v Cameroon (1988)

The then Green Eagles lost out in the finals to African rivals, Cameroon by 1 – 0. The win saw Cameroon lift their second AFCON title at the expense of Nigeria.

3 Algeria v Nigeria (1990)

After a good tournament, that saw the team not concede for almost half the tournament, they fell to North African giant, Algeria by a 1-0 scoreline. A goal in the 31st minute from Oudjani was enough to see the Desert Foxes crowned champions.

4 Nigeria v Cameroon (2000)

Hosted in Nigeria, it seemed delicately poised for Nigeria to once again reclaim the trophy, this time on home soil. That was not the case, however, as Cameroon raced to a 2 goal lead courtesy of goals from Eto’o and Mboma.

However, Nigeria clawed it’s way back with goals from Chukwu and the Jay-Jay Okocha. Nigeria winning would however not be the case, as a miss from Victor Ikpeba proved costly, as Cameroon lifted the title on Nigerian soil.

5 Nigeria v Argentina (2008)

The Olympics match was much expected by Nigerians who stayed up to cheer the team. However, a winner from Argentine, Angel Di Maria, was enough to crown the South American champions of the Olympics football tournament. At the U-20 stage, Nigeria has been unable to gain a lot of success.

6 Ivory Coast v Nigeria (2013 – African Youth Championship)

After winning the semi-finals by 4-2, Nigeria went into the finals with a lot of confidence. After playing out a 1-1 draw in normal time, the game went into penalties, and Ivory Coast claimed victory with a 5-4 win, and Nwakali being the only one who missed his penalty.

7 Ghana v Nigeria (1995 – African Youth Championship)

Ghana claimed the win, via a 3-1 win after extra time. The win saw Nigeria lose its first final in the tournament, and saw Ghana continue their rivalry with Nigeria.

8 Nigeria v Germany (2010) – female

Nigeria lost out to a goal from German striker, Alexandra Pope. It was Nigeria’s first final, however, the Falconets were unable to get a win to secure their first title, and could only settle for a silver medal.

9 Nigeria v Germany (2014) – female

This time, held in Canada, Nigeria once again came up against Germany. Once again, the story was the same, as they lost out by a slim 0-1 margin. It wasn’t all soon and gloom, as Asisat Oshoala won the golden ball and the golden boot.

10 Nigeria v Argentina (2005) – male

A game most Nigerians will never forget, as two goals from Lionel Messi saw Argentina come away with a 2-1 win in the final. Both Messi’s goals came from the penalty spot, with the second proving to be the winner, after Chinedu Ogbuke had equalized for Nigeria.

At the Under 17 level, it was majorly dominated by the male team.

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