Nigeria qualified to represent Africa in the 1998 FIFA World Cup hosted by Spain along with their African compatriots Cameroon, Morocco, Tunisia and South Africa. It was a tournament that saw the return of most of the squad that participated in the 1994 World Cup. The 1998 FIFA World Cup saw some sensational goals and the Nigerian Super Eagles were not left out. goal party. Below is a profile of Nigeria’s goalscorers at France 1998.
Mutiu Adepoju, popularly known as ‘the manager’, scored a classic opening goal with a header in the 24th minute of play in Nigeria’s opener against Spain. His equalizing goal canceled out Fernando Hierro’s goal in the 21st minute. He was then closing his trade with the Spanish team- Racing Santander
Garba Lawal forced the Spanish goalkeeper Andoni Zubizarreta to make a blunder that ended in an own goal. The goal came from an untargeted shot from the left wing that Zubizarreta deflected into his own goal to tie the score at 2-2.
Nigeria’s greatest goal of the 1998 FIFA World Cup was scored by Nigerian attacking midfielder Sunday Oliseh in Nigeria’s opening match against Spain. He scored with a 45-meter shot from outside the 18-yard box to beat veteran Spanish goalkeeper Andoni Zubizarreta. The goal was later played on major television channels during and after the World Cup. Sunday Oliseh’s lightning strike secured victory for the Nigerian Super Eagles and became the biggest upset of the tournament. The match ended 3-2 after regulation time.
Nigeria forward: Victor Ikpeba scored the only goal that sealed Nigeria’s win against Greece in the 28th minute of the first half. Ikpeba, then playing for Monaco in France, later became known as “the prince of Monaco” due to his goalscoring exploits for Monaco.
Wilson Oruma, who played as an attacking midfielder at the 1998 FIFA World Cup, scored a sensational 11th-minute goal that left a huge scar in Nigeria’s third and final group game with Paraguay. The only goal from him could not prevent Paraguay from inflicting a 3-1 defeat on Nigeria.
Diminutive right winger Tijani Babangida was on the scorer list when Nigeria was humiliated 4-1 by Denmark in the 1998 FIFA World Cup round of 16. It was a match in which Danish striker Ebbe Sand he made history as a substitute to score the goal. the fastest goal in a FIFA World Cup. He scored in the 59th minute of the second half as soon as he entered the pitch.