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FLASHBACK: STEPHEN KESHI PLAYS LAST SUPER EAGLES’ MATCH AND LAST WORLD CUP OUTING

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On this date, 30 June 1994, former Super Eagles’ skipper played his last international match as Nigeria engaged Greece in the last Group D match of the USA ’94 World Cup.

Keshi by then had been on and off the team’s line-up and was just the non-playing captain at the final of the Africa Cup of Nations earlier in year in Tunisia. At the World Cup, he did not feature in the preceding two matches against Bulgaria and Argentina.

But in the encounter with Greece, Keshi played the whole 90 minutes and made it a winning farewell as Nigeria won 2-0 to shoot to the summit of Group D and scoring at the dot of each half’s end.

Finidi George scored on the dot of 45 minutes to put Nigeria in contention for qualification. Even though the goal secured qualification, the result of the other Group match involving Argentina and Bulgaria being played simultaneously with that of Nigeria looked likely to upturn the apples’ cart.

Soon it came to pass that Argentina were on the losing end having conceded a second goal in added time, making all three teams of Nigeria, Argentina and Bulgaria to tie on six-points.

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The Super Eagles therefore needed another goal to make qualification more certain and avoid leaving Boston for a transcontinental trip to either Los Angeles or New Jersey.

Coincidentally, it was another 30 June, this time in 2014 that Keshi also had his last World Cup outing as a coach when Nigeria lost 2-0 to France in the Round of 16 match at Brazil 2014.

Kunle Solaja is the author of landmark books on sports and journalism as well as being a multiple award-winning journalist and editor of long standing. He is easily Nigeria’s foremost soccer diarist and Africa's most capped FIFA World Cup journalist, having attended all FIFA World Cup finals from Italia ’90 to Qatar 2022. He was honoured at the Qatar 2022 World Cup by FIFA and AIPS.

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