Nigeria 1994 World Cup Squad – The Complete List

Till this day – believe it or not –  there has not been any Nigerian squad up to par as the Nigeria 1994 World Cup squad.

The Nigeria squad 1994 hold one of the best World Cup records so far and with the same show of talent and skill, they went ahead to win the 1994 Africa Cup of Nations.

Almost everyone in that world Cup squad were part of the Super Eagles Tunisia 1994 squad, aside from a couple of them who were dropped for some reason best known to the coaching crew.

The total number of African teams at the 1994 world cup were 3 and they are Cameroon, Nigeria and Morocco.

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Managed by Dutch coach Clemens Westerhof, and slated in Group D, Super Eagles squad 1994 were the first Nigerian National team to make it to the FIFA World Cup competition, which was held in the US.

Meanwhile, host, the US, has never won a World Cup.

With the combined efforts and raw talents of the Westerhof-led team, Brazil, as well as other nations, were going to have a run for their title at the 1994 FIFA World Cup.

The 1994 Super Eagles squad surprised the world with an amazing debut as they topped their group which had the likes of Argentina, Bulgaria, and Greece to move into the next round of the competition.

At the 21st minute of Nigeria vs Bulgaria 1994, Rasheed Yekini (assisted by Finidi George) scored Nigeria’s first World Cup goal.

And in a style the world has never seen, he clenched onto the net and screamed to high heavens while the supporters went wild with celebration.

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Daniel Amokachi goal (assisted by Rasheed Yekini), against Bulgaria at the 43rd minute, was shortlisted for the FIFA World Cup Greatest Goal Award in 2018.

Nigeria FIFA ranking in 1994 stood at 5th position – the highest ever by any African football team – and we were adjudged the most entertaining team of the tournament.

And during Nigeria vs Italy 1994 round of 16 fixture of the World Cup competition, a goal from Emmanuel Amunike, 25 minutes into the game, brought the Eagles just within an inch of moving into the next round.

And sadly, two minutes before Nigeria could qualify for the quarter-final of the World Cup, Roberto Baggio scored for Italy, taking the game into extra time.

Roberto Baggio then scored the winner, ending the game 2-1 in favour of Italy.

Thus, the Nigeria FIFA world cup dream ended.

I mustn't forget to mention the Nigeria and Argentina match.

The ‘almighty' Diego Maradona was there once again with his wayo.

Similar to what he did against England in the 1986 World Cup hosted by Mexico – only this time his hand was not involved.

Maradona made a cheeky pass to Claudio Paul Caniggia just when the Nigeria team were busy setting up a wall for a freekick, and before anyone could finish saying ‘Jack Robbinson', it was a goalball!

The Super Eagles team protested but to no avail; the referee awarded the goal.

Nigeria vs Argentina 1994 Lineup

Starting lineup:

1. Goalkeeper: Peter Rufai (captain)
2. Defender: Augustine Eguavoen
3. Defender: Michael Emenalo
4. Defender: Chidi N'Wanu
5. Defender: Uche Okechukwu
6. Midfielder: Emmanuel Amunike
7. Midfielder: Sunday Oliseh
8. Midfielder/Forward: Finidi George
9. Forward: Daniel Amokachi
10. Forward: Samson Siasia
11. Forward: Rashidi Yekini

Substitutions:

• Mutiu Adepoju for Samson Siasia in the 56th minute
• Jay Jay Okocha for Sunday Oliseh in the 87the minute

Cards:

• Augustine Eguavoen in the 20th minute was issued Yellow card
• Michael Emenalo in the 53rd minute was issued Yellow card

Scoreline was Argentina 2-1 Nigeria and the goals were scored by:

Goals:

• Claudio Caniggia for Argentina in the 22nd minute
• Claudio Caniggia again in the 29th minute
• Samson Siasia for Nigeria in the 8th minute

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Nigeria v Bulgaria 1994 Lineup

Starting lineup:

1. Goalkeeper: Peter Rufai (captain)
2. Defender: Augustine Eguavoen
3. Defender: Benedict Iroha
4. Defender: Chidi N'Wanu
5. Defender: Uche Okechukwu
6. Midfielder: Emmanuel Amunike
7. Midfielder: Sunday Oliseh
8. Midfielder/Forward: Finidi George
9. Forward: Daniel Amokachi
10. Forward: Samson Siasia
11. Forward: Rashidi Yekini

Substitutions:

• Mutiu Adepoju for Samson Siasia in the 68th minute
• Emeka Ezeogu for Finidi George in the 77 minute

Cards:

• Emmanuel Amunike in the 73rd minute issued Yellow card

Score line was Nigeria 3 – 0 Bulgaria and the goals were scored by:

Goals:

• Rashidi Yekini in the 21st minute
• Daniel Amokachi in the 43rd minute
• Emmanuel Amunike in the 55th minute

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Greece v Nigeria 1994 Lineup

Starting lineup:

1. Goalkeeper: Peter Rufai
2. Defender: Michael Emenalo
3. Defender: Stephen Keshi (captain)
4. Defender: Chidi N'Wanu
5. Defender: Uche Okechukwu
6. Midfielder: Emmanuel Amunike
7. Midfielder: Sunday Oliseh
8. Midfielder/Forward: Finidi George
9. Forward: Daniel Amokachi
10. Forward: Samson Siasia
11. Forward: Rashidi Yekini

Substitutions:

• Jay Jay Okocha for Rashidi Yekini in the 69th minute
• Mutiu Adepoju for Finidi George in the 83rd minute

Cards:

• Sunday Oliseh in the 66th minute issued Yellow card
• Stephen Keshi  in the 70th minute issued Yellow card

Scoreline was Greece 0-2 Nigeria and the goals were scored by:

Goals:

• Finidi George in the 45th minute
• Daniel Amokachi in the 90th minute

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Nigeria v Italy 1994 Lineup

This was FIFA World Cup Finals 2nd round which went into extra time after full time ended 1-1 apiece.

Starting lineup:

1. Goalkeeper: Peter Rufai (captain)
2. Defender: Augustine Eguavoen
3. Defender: Michael Emenalo
4. Defender: Chidi N'Wanu
5. Defender: Uche Okechukwu
6. Midfielder: Emmanuel Amunike
7. Midfielder: Jay Jay Okocha
8. Midfielder: Sunday Oliseh
9. Midfielder/Forward: Finidi George
10. Forward: Daniel Amokachi
11. Forward: Rashidi Yekini

Substitutions:

• Mutiu Adepoju for Daniel Amokachi in the 34th minute
• Thompson Oliha for Emmanuel Amunike in the 57th minute

Cards:

• Michael Emenalo in the 2nd minute was issued Yellow card
• Mutiu Adepoju in the 42nd minute was issued Yellow card
• Sunday Oliseh in the 54th minute was issued Yellow card
• Chidi N'Wanu in the 59th minute was given a Yellow card

The pressure of the game should explain why the yellow cards were much. The eventual score line ended 2-1 to Italy and the goals were scored by:

Goal for Nigeria:

• Emmanuel Amunike in the 27th minute

Goals for Italy:

• Roberto Baggio in the 88th minute
• Roberto Baggio (penalty) in the 102nd minute

If we take away the corruption and coups that threatened the existence of Nigeria back then, the Super Eagles had become a model in many capacities. It recognized and welcomed talent for the job, showmanship and became a symbol of hope.

The Super Eagles jersey at the 1994 World Cup is one of a kind that I just had to mention it.

And we must not forget, the Late Stephen Keshi was the captain of the Nigeria 1994 World Cup Squad.

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Nigeria 1994 World Cup Squad List

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Brazil was the eventual winner of the FIFA World Cup in 1994. They defeated Italy 3–2 on penalties to claim their fourth World Cup title when the match ended goalless.

This article was most recently revised and updated 3 years ago