In the new year, the first international tournament of a blockbuster 2024 will take place when the Africa Cup of Nations kicks off in the Ivory Coast on January 13th. The hosts will get things underway as they welcome Guinea-Bissau to the Alassane Ouattara Stadium in Abidjan before Nigeria faces off against Equatorial Guinea in the same stadium the very next day in a heavyweight-looking Group A. The Super Eagles have actually qualified for the tournament this time around, unlike three of the last six AFCONs, despite being one of the perceived stronger teams on the continent.
Reputable sportsbooks will be providing both live betting and prematch options on the tournament right through from the curtain raiser up until the February 11th showpiece, and there are a number of teams that are considered frontrunners. Morocco became the first African team in history to reach the semifinals of a World Cup in 2022, and they are amongst the favorites however, it is reigning champions Senegal who are the outright +600 favorite.
Nigeria are listed at +1000, meaning the bookies certainly consider them as contenders. But how have they fared on their last few trips to the tournament?
2021 – Beaten in the Second Round
Let’s start with the most recent tournament, AFCON 2021. Nigeria qualified for the tournament, and the expectations were high. Unfortunately, they fell well short of them and crashed out in the Round of 16, eliminated by Tunisia following a 1-0 defeatcourtesy of Youssef Msakni’s goal at the Roumdé AdjiaStadium. Many fans felt let down as they had high hopes for their national team. Despite the team putting up a strong fight, they couldn’t find a way through.
2019 – Beaten in the Semifinal
Back in 2016, Nigeria returned to the Africa Cup of Nations after six years away. They inexplicably didn’t manage to qualify for either the 2015 or 2017 installments of the competition and they were about to prove that they meant business. But a shock 2-0 defeat to Madagascar in their final group game meant that they would have a more difficult second-round contest on their hands after finishing as group runners-up.
Despite being underdogs, the Super Eagles shocked Cameroon in the second round. They rallied from 2-1 down in the second half and goals from Premier League duo Odion Ighalo and Alex Iwobi secured safe passage to the quarterfinals. There, they would meet South Africa, who had stunned hosts Egypt in the previous round. Nigeria would successfully get the victory thanks to a last-gasp strike from William Troost-Ekong, but that was as good as things would get as they were dumped out in the semifinals thanks to a 95th-minute winner from Algeria’s Riyad Mahrez
The fact that Nigeria didn’t qualify in 2015 and 2017 is all the more baffling considering the fact that they went all the way and won the tournament in 2013. That year, the Super Eagles had a slow start to the tournament, drawing their first two matches against Burkina Faso and Zambia. However, they stepped up their game when they needed to, winning their final group game courtesy of two Victor Moses penalties.
Just as they did six years later, Nigeria had a more challenging matchup in the quarterfinals but a late Sunday Mba strike secured a 2-1 victory over the heavily favoured Ivory Coast. Mali stunned everyone en route to the semifinals but there they were no match for the Super Eagles. Goals from Elderson Echiéjilé, Brown Ideye, Emmanuel Emenike and Ahmed Musa sealed a 4-1 victory and a spot in the final.
Just like their final four opponents, Burkina Faso were shock finalists however, they too couldn’t beat the Nigerians and Mba scored the winner in the 40th minute of the game. It was a historic win for Nigeria, and fans all over the country celebrated the triumph, their country’s first in almost two decades.
2010 – Beaten in the Semifinals
In 2012, Nigeria didn’t qualify once more, making it three tournaments in four that they hadn’t featured in. Two years before that it was a different story, and the Super Eagles were at the back end of six consecutive tournaments. The showdown in Angola promised plenty, and the Nigerians wouldn’t disappoint.
They topped their group with wins over Mozambique and Benin before drawing against Tunisia. They then beat Zambia in the quarterfinals on penalties before being knocked out by Ghana in the semifinals. The defeat was a bitter pill to swallow because the squad was filled with top talents such as Vincent Enyeama, John Obi-Mikel, and Obafemi Martins. Asamoah Gyan netted the only game of the goal for the Black Stars and he would go on to make headlines the world over six months later as his missed penalty against Uruguay saw his side eliminated from the FIFA World Cup at the semifinal stage.
