International Football
Against Ghana, Super Eagles aim at 185th World Cup qualifying goal and even more
BY KUNLE SOLAJA.
No African side has scored more World Cup qualifying victories than Nigeria whose aggregate currently stand at 62 wins in 111 games -a win rate of 56.36 percent.
Till the last weekend when they played goalless with the Black Stars, they have scored 184 goals in 111 World Cup qualifying matches.
The last goal, scored under a minute of kick-off was against Cape Verde last November in Lagos. It was similar to the under a minute goal scored by Tijanni Babangida in the 3-0 defeat of Ghana 21 years ago in Port Harcourt.
It was in the same city that Nigeria became the first African team to hit a milestone of 100 goals when Victor Agali scored the second of Nigeria’s 3-0 defeat of Sudan on 27 January 2001.
Coincidentally, it was against Ghana that Nigeria first scored a World Cup qualifying goal when Dejo Fayemi scored in a 4-1 loss in Accra 62 years ago.
Ever since, there have been milestone goals, the last of which is the 180th scored by Leon Balogun in the 2-0 away win over Central African Republic last October.
NIGERIA’S WORLD CUP QUALIFYING MATCHES’ MILESTONE GOALS
No. Scorer Match/Scores Goal Date 1st Dejo Fayemi Ghana 4-1 Nigeria 2-1 August 28, 1960 10th Sam Garba Okoye Ghana 1-1 Nigeria 0-1 May 18, 1969 20th Yakubu Mambo Nigeria 2-1 Congo 2-1 August 2, 1969 30th Thompson Usiyen Nigeria 4-0 Cote d’Ivoire 1-0 July 10, 1977 40th Godwin Uwelimo Egypt 1-3 Nigeria 1-3 October 21.1977 50th Humphery Edobor Nigeria 3-0 Liberia 2-0 October 10, 1984 60th Wole Odegbami Nigeria 1-0 Gabon 1-0 January 7, 1989 70th Rashidi Yekini Nigeria 4-0 South Africa 4-0 January 7, 1989 80th Rashidi Yekini Nigeria 4-0 Cote d’Ivoire 4-0 September 25, 1993 90th Emmanuel Amuneke Nigeria 3-0 Kenya 2-0 June 7, 1997 100th Victor Agali Nigeria 3-0 Sudan 2-0 January 27, 2001 110th Tijjani Babangida Nigeria 3-0 Ghana 2-0 July 29, 2001 120th Obafemi Martins Rwanda 1-1 Nigeria 1-1 June 5, 2005 130th Nwankwo Kanu Nigeria 5-1 Zimbabwe 4-1 October 8, 2005 140th Osaze Odemwingie Nigeria 4-1 Sierra Leone 3-1 June 6, 2008 150th Obafemi Martins Kenya 2-3 Nigeria 2-3 October 14, 2009 160th Victor Moses Nigeria 2-0 Ethiopia 1-0 November 16, 2013 170th Mikel Obi Nigeria 4-0 Cameroon 2-0 September 1, 2017 180th Leon Balogun CAR 0-2 Nigeria 1-0 October 10, 2021 184th Victor Osimhen Nigeria 1-1 Cape Verde 1-0 November 13, 2021
