One point from three games. Nigeria's 2010 World Cup in South Africa ended at the group stage, after a 1-0 defeat to Argentina, a 2-1 loss to Greece and a 2-2 draw with South Korea. Lars Lagerbäck, appointed only in February 2010, led a squad built around Vincent Enyeama, Joseph Yobo, Nwankwo Kanu and Yakubu Aiyegbeni.
The 23 players Lars Lagerbäck took to South Africa
| No. | Position | Player | Club in June |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | GK | Vincent Enyeama | Hapoel Tel Aviv |
| 2 | DF | Joseph Yobo | Everton |
| 3 | DF | Taye Taiwo | Marseille |
| 4 | FW | Nwankwo Kanu | Portsmouth |
| 5 | DF | Rabiu Afolabi | Red Bull Salzburg |
| 6 | DF | Danny Shittu | Bolton Wanderers |
| 7 | FW | John Utaka | Portsmouth |
| 8 | FW | Yakubu Aiyegbeni | Everton |
| 9 | FW | Obafemi Martins | VfL Wolfsburg |
| 10 | FW | Brown Ideye | Sochaux |
| 11 | FW | Peter Odemwingie | Lokomotiv Moscow |
| 12 | FW | Kalu Uche | Almería |
| 13 | MF | Ayila Yussuf | Dynamo Kyiv |
| 14 | MF | Sani Kaita | Alania Vladikavkaz |
| 15 | MF | Lukman Haruna | Monaco |
| 16 | GK | Austin Ejide | Hapoel Petah Tikva |
| 17 | DF | Chidi Odiah | CSKA Moscow |
| 18 | FW | Victor Obinna | Málaga |
| 19 | FW | Chinedu Obasi | 1899 Hoffenheim |
| 20 | MF | Dickson Etuhu | Fulham |
| 21 | DF | Elderson Echiéjilé | Rennes |
| 22 | DF | Dele Adeleye | Sparta Rotterdam |
| 23 | GK | Dele Aiyenugba | Bnei Yehuda |
John Obi Mikel missed the tournament through injury and was replaced by Brown Ideye. Everton supplied Yobo and Yakubu, Portsmouth had Kanu and John Utaka, and Taye Taiwo came from Marseille. All three goalkeepers played in Israel: Enyeama at Hapoel Tel Aviv, Austin Ejide at Hapoel Petah Tikva and Dele Aiyenugba at Bnei Yehuda.
Group B: Enyeama's night, a red card and the Yakubu miss
Gabriel Heinze headed Argentina in front early at Ellis Park in Johannesburg. What followed was a long duel between Lionel Messi and Vincent Enyeama, who made save after save and was named man of the match. Nigeria lost, but only by one goal.
Kalu Uche gave Nigeria the lead with a free kick in Bloemfontein. Then Sani Kaita kicked out at Vasilis Torosidis and was sent off in the first half. Greece used the extra man, Dimitris Salpingidis equalised and Torosidis scored the winner after the break.
Nigeria still had a chance in Durban. Uche scored again, Yakubu converted a penalty, and the game is remembered above all for the chance Yakubu put wide from a few yards with the goal open. South Korea drew 2-2 and went through. Nigeria finished bottom of Group B.
The miss gets too much of the blame. A red card against Greece cost more than one shot in Durban, and a coach hired four months before the tournament had little time to fix a squad that had struggled through qualifying.
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