Nigeria's Tremendous Eagles will tackle Ivory Coast Elephants within the 2023 African Cup of Nations (AFCON) last on the Alassane Ouattara Stadium on Sunday.
Nigeria secured a spot within the last of the thirty fourth version of the continental soccer showpiece on Wednesday by beating South Africa 4-2 on penalties after a nail-biting 1-1 draw after 120 minutes.
Sunday's last towards hosts Ivory Coast would be the eighth time the Tremendous Eagles have performed in that part of the competitors. How have they performed within the earlier seven finals?
AFCON (gold) from 1980
Algerian Ali Fergani (l) and Nigerian Christian Chukwu (r) lead their respective groups in the course of the 1980 AFCON finals in Lagos. (Picture by Peter Robinson/EMPICS)
Nigeria received its first AFCON trophy when the nation hosted the match in 1980, deciding on the 2 venues for the competitors, Lagos and Ibadan.
The Tremendous Eagles, then referred to as the Inexperienced Eagles, had an incredible match, beating nearly each nation they performed towards. Within the last, Nigeria defeated Algeria 3-0 to raise the celebrated trophy.
Regardless of Algeria being tipped as clear favourites, the Inexperienced Eagles performed like they had been possessed and consumed the North Africans with two targets from Segun Odeggbami within the 2nd and forty second minutes to place Nigeria 2-0 forward.
Midfield maestro, the late Mudashiru 'Muda' Lawal, performed as a striker and put the icing on the cake within the fiftieth minute of the ultimate on the Nationwide Stadium in Lagos to seal a historic victory for the Nigerian nationwide crew.
For Nigeria, which had different stars equivalent to Felix Owolabi, Christian Chukwu and Okey Isima underneath Brazilian coach Otto Gloria, it was a match filled with firsts: first time as hosts, first last look and in the end first AFCON title.
1984 AFCON (silver)
Cameroon captain Theophile Richard Abega (l) shakes arms with Nigeria captain Stephen Okechukwu Keshi (r) earlier than the match (Picture by Peter Robinson/EMPICS)
The Inexperienced Eagles reached their fifth consecutive AFCON match and their sixth general, which was hosted by Ivory Coast, or Côte d'Ivoire, because the case could also be, within the yr 1984.
And this time, Nigeria reached the ultimate of the competitors on March 18, 1984, the place they met Cameroon on the Stade Félix Houphouët-Boigny in Abidjan, which had 27,000 followers.
Nonetheless, the Inexperienced Eagles did not do it once more as that they had performed in 1980 once they grew to become champions because it was a darkish night for the crew, the supporters and your complete nation.
After a dream begin to the ultimate following Muda Lawal's opener within the tenth minute, Rene N'Djeya (thirty second), Theophile Abega (79th) and Ernest Ebongue (84th) scored a purpose every to crush Nigeria's desires.
1988 AFCON (silver)
Nigerian Stephen Keshi dribbles into the Cameroonian penalty space in the course of the 1988 Africa Cup of Nations last on the Stade Mohamed V in Casablanca.
After failing to qualify for the 1986 AFCON, which Egypt hosted, the Inexperienced Eagles had been at it once more in Morocco in 1988 once they reached the ultimate the place they misplaced once more to Cameroon.
Whereas many African soccer followers and consultants consider that the youthful Nigerian facet led by the late Stephen Keshi misplaced the 1984 last to the Indomitable Lions of Cameroon resulting from inexperience, some consider the administration was unfair.
Then again, Cameroon wouldn’t have defeated Nigeria if the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) had been in use, as on March 27, 1988, on the Stade Mohamed V in Casablanca, referee Idrissa Sarr disallowed Henry Nwosu's header.
Moreover, the Indomitable Lions solely managed to win the final match by means of a questionable penalty awarded to them following a conflict between Sunday Eboigbe and Roger Milla.
1990 AFCON (silver)
Tremendous Eagles on the 1990 AFCON. Picture: Archives du Soccer Africain.
After Nigeria's disappointing elimination from the 1990 World Cup finals in Italy, Clemens Westerhof's Tremendous Eagles revolution actually started when he led Nigeria to the finals of the 1990 AFCON in Algeria.
The Nigerian crew arrived in Algeria and had been defeated 5–1 by the host nation within the opening match of the match on 3 March 1990, with Emmanuel Okocha, older brother of Austin 'Jay Jay' Okocha, scoring the Tremendous Eagles' solely purpose that rotated. only a comfort.
However as a substitute of dropping their heads, the crew one way or the other recovered within the subsequent matches and negotiated their method to the ultimate after slender 1-0 victories over Egypt and Ivory Coast with the targets of the late Rashidi Yekini, earlier than beating Zambia 2-0. within the semi-finals, because of targets from Uche Okechukwu and Yekini.
By the point the Eagles confronted Algeria once more within the last on the 5 July Stadium in Algiers on March 16, 1990, they had been a really completely different crew from the one which misplaced 5–1 within the opening match simply two weeks earlier.
In the long run, Algeria solely managed to win 1-0, however the Eagles weren’t disgraced. For a crew that had began the match so poorly, reaching the ultimate and successful the silver medal was an incredible achievement.
1994 AFCON (gold)
Peter Rufai, Sunday Oliseh and Stephen Keshi of Nigeria have fun with the African Nations Cup after their crew's 2-1 win over Zambia (Picture: EMPICS through Google)
Nigeria's golden technology of footballers received the 1994 AFCON version in Tunisia earlier than progressing to the FIFA World Cup in america, the place they reached the knockout phases.
The Tremendous Eagles paraded some notable names that made the facet fear-inducing to play towards and stay arguably one of the best Nigerian facet within the nation's soccer historical past.
Nigeria lifted the trophy for the second time after a 2-1 win over Zambia within the last on the Stade El Menzah in Tunis, with Emmanuel Amuneke scoring a brace to cancel out Elijah Litana's third-minute purpose.
2000 AFCON (silver)
Nwankwo Kanu of Nigeria is consoled by teammates Jay Jay Okocha and Tijani Babangida after lacking his penalty in the course of the Africa Cup of Nations last towards Cameroon on the Nationwide Stadium in Lagos, Nigeria. Cameroon received 4–3 on penalties after the match ended 2–2. Credit score: Ben Radford/Allsport
Nigeria was anticipated to win their third title once they co-hosted the occasion with Ghana within the yr 2000 because the Tremendous Eagles exuded high quality in each division of the sector.
The Tremendous Eagles had recreation changers like Austin 'Jay Jay' Okocha, Daniel Amokachi, Victor Ikpeba, Sunday Oliseh, Nwankwo Kanu and Julius Aghahowa who celebrated his targets with backflips.
Tijani Babangida scored two spectacular first-half targets for the Tremendous Eagles to safe a 2-0 win over South Africa within the semi-finals, organising a last date with Cameroon.
Former Chelsea, Barcelona and Inter Milan striker Samuel Eto'o scored within the twenty sixth minute, whereas Patrick M'Boma doubled Cameroon's lead in 31 minutes to silence the group on the Nationwide Stadium in Lagos.
Regardless of being two targets behind because of targets from Raphael Chukwu within the forty fifth minute and Okocha within the forty seventh minute, the Tremendous Eagles controversially misplaced 4-3 on penalties in entrance of 60,000 spectators, most of whom had been Nigerians who shed tears.
AFCON 2013 (gold)
Nigeria celebrates in the course of the 2013 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) last between Nigeria and Burkina Faso from the Nationwide Stadium on February 10, 2013 in Johannesburg, South Africa. Picture: AFP
Nobody, together with the gamers, football-loving Nigerians and pundits world wide, anticipated the Tremendous Eagles to win the 2013 match in South Africa due to the composition of the crew.
The Tremendous Eagles, led by the late Stephen Keshi, consisted of each international and native gamers who used the competitors as a possibility to announce themselves on the worldwide stage.
Nigeria received the competitors for the third time in historical past eleven years in the past once they defeated Burkina Faso 1-0 within the last on the FNB Stadium in Johannesburg because of a purpose from Sunday Mba.
