Nigeria Football Team: Super Eagles Squad, Next Match and Kick-Off Times

Nigeria are the Super Eagles, a national football team with three Africa Cup of Nations titles, won in 1980, 1994 and 2013. Nigeria also won the men's Olympic football gold medal at Atlanta in 1996. The live fixture module shows their next match, opponent, competition and kick-off times in WAT, EAT, SAST and GMT, while the squad and results modules carry the player list and match scores. Readers following the Nigerian football team, or the Nigerian soccer team as plenty of readers in Johannesburg and Durban put it, can check the squad, coach and record book in the relevant modules.

Following the Super Eagles from Lagos is a little like being in a family WhatsApp group the week before a wedding, because everyone has an opinion and nobody is calm about it. But, the record book is calmer than any viewing centre, and it says this is one of the most decorated sides in Africa, ranked as high as 5th in the world in April 1994. The records module lists scoring and appearance milestones, while the fixture module identifies the opponent, competition, venue and kick-off time for each scheduled match.

When Is Nigeria's Next Match, and What Time Is Kick-Off Where You Live?

The next Super Eagles match is in the live fixture block at the top, with the date, the opponent, the competition and kick-off shown in Nigerian, Kenyan, South African, Ghanaian and Ugandan time together. The block refreshes itself once a fixture is confirmed or moved, so it is the place to check rather than any date written in prose. Lagos runs on West Africa Time (WAT), Nairobi and Kampala on East Africa Time (EAT), Johannesburg on South African Standard Time (SAST) and Accra on Greenwich Mean Time (GMT). As such, an evening game in Lagos lands an hour earlier in Accra, an hour later in Johannesburg and two hours later in Nairobi and Kampala.

Where to watch is listed per country in the same block, because rights change between competitions, and a friendly can sit with a different broadcaster from a qualifier. Across the continent, SuperSport is the name most fans look for first, local television and radio stations carry plenty of national team games, and phones take a bigger share of the viewing every year. That being said, a Super Eagles night is rarely a solo affair, with viewing centres, bars, compounds and family sitting rooms filling up long before the anthem. If you are planning to watch with others, check the country line in the module on the day itself.

Who Is in the Nigeria Squad?

The current Nigeria squad is in the squad table, grouped into goalkeepers, defenders, midfielders and forwards, with each player's club, age and caps beside his name. The status column identifies the selection information attached to each player; read it alongside the squad announcement date. Each club name links through, so a reader in Nairobi who follows English or Italian football can trace the Nigerian connection at club level.

The club column shows where each player plays, including any Nigerian clubs represented in the selection. When you read the table, the caps column shows international experience, and the age column helps you compare players at different stages of their careers.

Who Coaches the Super Eagles, and How Do They Play?

The coach line in the squad module carries the current name. It could be argued that Nigeria are at their best with pace in the wide areas, a physical presence through the middle and a centre forward who can hold the ball up and finish, a shape that suits the players European clubs have produced for them. The lineup module shows the formation for each match, which matters because a coach can switch between a back four and a back three depending on the opponent. If you want to judge the plan, look at who starts wide and who sits in front of the defence, because those two choices usually tell you whether the Super Eagles mean to press high or to counter.

How Do You Read Nigeria's Fixtures and Results?

FIFA's international match calendar sets windows for men's national team matches, including qualifiers and friendlies, alongside separate dates for major tournaments. Check each fixture's date and competition rather than assuming every match falls within a regular window. The results strip lists the recent matches with the score, the date and the competition, and FT marks full time. In qualifying for the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations, the top two teams in each group qualified, except in host Morocco's group, where Morocco qualified automatically and only the highest placed other team advanced. For the 2026 World Cup, the African qualifying format gave each of nine group winners a direct place and sent the four best runners up into a continental playoff. Its winner advanced to the intercontinental playoff, which was the route Nigeria pursued in 2025.

Friendlies sit between those competitive games, and a coach often uses them to test a new player or a new shape. As such, a friendly result is worth reading alongside the lineup, since the names on the pitch tell you more than the score. In the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations qualifying groups, teams level on points were separated first by results between the tied teams, including their head to head goal difference; overall group goal difference appeared later in the sequence of criteria. In the African qualifying groups for the 2026 World Cup, overall group goal difference and goals scored came before head to head criteria. Read the competition name and edition before interpreting a group table.

What Happened After Nigeria Missed the 2026 World Cup?

Nigeria missed the 2026 World Cup after DR Congo beat them 4 to 3 on penalties, following a draw of one goal each, in the CAF playoff final in Rabat on 16 November 2025. That night is, perhaps, the defining match of this era for Super Eagles fans, because a place in the intercontinental playoff came down to a single kick. Credit belongs to DR Congo, who held their nerve in the shootout and earned their place. For the Nigerian players who stood in that centre circle, it is the match every future qualifier will be measured against.

The competition name in the fixture module distinguishes Africa Cup of Nations matches, World Cup matches and friendlies. Read it alongside the edition and stage: a qualifying group match contributes to a group table, while a playoff or finals match follows the rules for that competition and round. The stage label helps explain what a result means for progression, and the linked group table shows the qualifying positions.

What Have the Super Eagles Won?

Nigeria have won the Africa Cup of Nations three times, in 1980, 1994 and 2013, and finished runners up four times, in 1984, 1988, 2000 and 2023. The first title came on home soil in 1980. Nigeria also won the title in 2013. The men's Olympic gold at Atlanta in 1996 sits beside those titles, and for a lot of Nigerians it is the result that made the wider football world pay attention. Add the four final defeats to the three wins and you have a side that has reached seven continental finals, which says more about consistency than any single trophy.

On the world stage, Nigeria appeared at six men's World Cups, from 1994 to 2018, and reached the round of 16 in 1994, 1998 and 2014. The first official international was a win by two goals to nil over Sierra Leone in Freetown on 8 October 1949, so the story runs back more than seven decades. The table below sets the honours out in one place, while the records module tracks anything that can still change.

Who Holds the Nigeria Records?

Rashidi Yekini held Nigeria's scoring record with 37 goals as recorded on 10 November 2026. Ahmed Musa held Nigeria's appearance record with 110 appearances as recorded on 10 November 2026. Yekini scored his goals across the 1980s and 1990s, the era of the first World Cup in 1994, and his total is the number every Nigerian striker is measured against. The records module carries the updated scoring and appearance totals. If you are settling an argument in a viewing centre, the records box is the place to check before you raise your voice.

Who Are the Super Eagles, and Where Do They Play?

The Super Eagles are the Nigeria national football team, run by the Nigeria Football Federation and dressed in green and white. The name became official after the 1988 Africa Cup of Nations, and before that the side were the Green Eagles, a name older fans still use with real affection. Supporters at home also shorten the whole country to Naija, so a Naija team sheet and a Super Eagles list are the same thing. The FIFA ranking moves after every window and sits in the module, but the high point is fixed at 5th in the world in April 1994.

Nigeria have no single fixed home stadium, and home matches move between venues in different cities. That surprises some readers who expect one national ground, and it means the venue line on each fixture is worth reading closely. Tickets are released through official channels for each match, and the fixture block carries the venue as soon as it is confirmed. If you are travelling for a home game, check the city first, because Lagos traffic alone can decide whether you see the kick-off.

Why Do the Super Eagles Matter in Kenya, South Africa, Ghana and Uganda?

Ghana and South Africa follow Nigeria most closely from outside its borders, and each rivalry carries its own weight. Ghana's Black Stars are the West African derby, with the jollof banter that follows every meeting, and Ghanaian readers search for Nigeria more than readers in any other market outside it. South Africa is the biggest audience beyond West Africa, and searches for the Nigerian football team from Johannesburg and Cape Town tend to climb whenever Nigeria and Bafana Bafana meet at an Africa Cup of Nations. Matches against Cameroon, Egypt, Algeria, Senegal and Ivory Coast draw big crowds of viewers too, because those are the games that decide continental titles.

Kenyan and Ugandan fans tend to follow the Super Eagles through the Africa Cup of Nations and its qualifying groups, and many use Nigeria as a measure of where the Harambee Stars and the Uganda Cranes want to be. For those readers, the EAT column in the fixture block is the one to use, since an evening game in West Africa runs later in Nairobi and Kampala. That benchmark role is a compliment, and it comes with being one of Africa's most followed sides. If you follow Bafana Bafana or the Black Stars as well, our national teams hub has each side on its own page.

What Does Super Eagles Mean?

Super Eagles is the nickname of Nigeria's men's national football team. Previously known as the Green Eagles, the team became the Super Eagles after finishing runners up at the 1988 Africa Cup of Nations. The change followed their performance at that tournament in Morocco, where they reached the final against Cameroon.