By Kunle Solaja, Casablanca enroute Marrakech

Few fixtures in African football carry the weight of history quite like Algeria versus Nigeria. From Africa Cup of Nations finals and World Cup qualifying deciders to record-breaking runs, controversial encounters and career-defining moments, meetings between the Super Eagles and the Desert Foxes have repeatedly shaped the continent’s football narrative.

As they prepare to clash again on Saturday, these key facts and flashbacks highlight why this rivalry remains one of Africa’s most compelling.

Sports Village Square presents a tale of Nigeria vs Algeria: Rivalry Facts and Flashbacks

• This match will be Nigeria’s 109th Africa Cup of Nations game and the ninth AFCON semi-final appearance for the Super Eagles in the tournament’s 69-year history.

• Algeria are playing their 84th AFCON match, with a record of 32 wins, 24 draws and 25 defeats.
• Nigeria won their first AFCON title by defeating Algeria 3–0 in the final on 22 March 1980 in Lagos.

• Algeria won their first AFCON title by beating Nigeria 1–0 in the final on 16 March 1990 in Algiers.

• Algeria were the last hurdle Nigeria crossed to qualify for the 1994 FIFA World Cup, drawing 1–1 in Algiers on 8 October 1993—making Nigeria the first Anglophone African country to reach the World Cup.

• Nigeria were also the last opponent Algeria faced to qualify for their first World Cup (Spain ’82), with Algeria winning 2–0 in Lagos (10 October 1981) and 2–1 in Constantine (30 October 1981).

• Nigeria’s 34-match unbeaten run in World Cup qualifiers, the longest in Africa, was technically ended by Algeria in November 2017 after FIFA overturned a 1–1 draw to a 3–0 Algeria win due to an ineligible Nigerian player. Otherwise, the run would have reached 35 matches. At the time, Nigeria had not lost a World Cup qualifier since 20 June 2004 (1–0 loss to Angola in Luanda). The run was second only to Spain’s 59-match global record and longer than Germany’s pre-2014 World Cup streak.

• Nigeria and Algeria were the last two African teams standing at the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil.

• Both exited the Round of 16 on the same day: Nigeria lost 2–0 to France, while Algeria fell 2–1 (after extra time) to Germany. Had both won, Africa would have produced its first-ever World Cup quarter-final clash between two African teams.

• The Nigeria–Algeria clash in Uyo on 12 November 2016 marked Nigeria’s 100th World Cup qualifying match.

• Nigerian defender Bright Omokaro earned the nickname “Ten-Ten” after an infamous tackle on an Algerian player at Morocco ’88, evening the teams numerically after a Nigerian red card. Commentator Ernest Okonkwo’s cry—“Omokaro has made it ten-ten!”—immortalised the name.

• Austin ‘Jay-Jay’ Okocha scored the first of his 16 international goals for Nigeria from a free kick against Algeria on 13 July 1993, in a 4–1 World Cup qualifying win in Lagos.

• Okocha’s elder brother, Emma Okocha, made his international debut against Algeria on 2 March 1990 and scored his only Nigeria goal against Algeria at the 1990 AFCON opener in Algiers (Nigeria lost 5–1).

• Nigerian greats Segun Odegbami, Christian Chukwu, and Thompson Usiyen all played their final international matches against Algeria during the 1981 World Cup qualifying series.

• Algeria legend Rabah Madjer began his coaching career with a World Cup qualifier against Nigeria in 2017.

• Algeria were victims of the infamous 1982 “Gijón Disgrace” at the World Cup. Two years later, Nigeria and Algeria were fined by CAF for unsporting conduct after a controversial 0–0 “accord match” at AFCON 1984 in Bouaké.

• Both Nigeria and Algeria share green as their dominant national colour.

• The names Nigeria and Algeria differ only in their first two letters, adding to one of Africa’s most enduring football rivalries.

• Algeria once beat Nigeria silly, 5-1 in Algiers, Algeria. Nigeria also once beat Algeria silly 5-2 in Oran, Algeria.

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By Kunle Solaja, Casablanca

As Nigeria and Algeria prepare to renew their rivalry in Saturday’s quarter-final of the Africa Cup of Nations in Marrakesh, memories of one of the tournament’s most controversial episodes have resurfaced.

Forty-two years ago, the two nations met in their final Group B match in Bouaké, Côte d’Ivoire, in a game that descended into infamy.

The goalless draw ensured progression for both teams while condemning defending champions Ghana to elimination, despite Nigeria winning only one match en route to an eventual silver medal.

The Bouaké encounter was marked by a conspicuous absence of competitive intent. Players exchanged harmless passes in midfield, while forwards repeatedly declined shooting opportunities, opting instead to recycle possession backwards.

The spectacle enraged ticket-holding spectators and left little doubt about the intentions on the pitch.

So blatant was the lack of sportsmanship that Guinean referee Karim Camara cautioned both captains—Stephen Keshi of Nigeria and Ali Feghani—a rare, symbolic yellow card that served as a collective warning for “unsporting behaviour” to the two teams.

After prolonged deliberations lasting three hours, the Confederation of African Football (CAF) fined both Nigeria and Algeria $6,000 each. At the time, speculation swirled over whether the draw was pre-arranged. Subsequent revelations suggested there were indeed strong indications of collusion.

Investigations by Sports Village Square later uncovered confessions pointing to an agreement between the teams. One Nigerian squad member—now deceased—reportedly admitted his central role in brokering the deal after a chance meeting with Algeria’s captain, Feghani, whom he knew previously.

Weeks later, Henry Nwosu, a member of the Nigerian squad, granted an interview to Guardian Express—the evening edition of The Guardian—openly confirming the conspiracy. From Algeria, a similar admission followed years later when former midfielder Mohammed Shoaib acknowledged that there was a pact to eliminate Ghana.

The context was clear. Going into the final round of matches, Ghana—having lost their opener to Nigeria—needed a victory over Malawi and a Nigerian defeat by Algeria to advance. Nigeria, however, required only a draw to progress alongside Algeria.

Ironically, the Algerians were drawing from bitter personal experience. Just two years earlier at the 1982 FIFA World Cup in Spain, they had fallen victim to what became known globally as the Gijón Disgrace.

 In that match, West Germany’s early goal against Austria produced a mutually beneficial result that eliminated Algeria, after which the game descended into a second-half stalemate.

Despite international condemnation and a formal protest from Algeria, FIFA took no punitive action at the time. Years later, Austrian player Reinhold Hintermaier admitted the match had been fixed. The scandal ultimately forced a rule change, ensuring that final group-stage matches at major tournaments are played simultaneously.

As Nigeria and Algeria meet again—this time with a place in the AFCON semi-finals at stake—the echoes of Bouaké serve as a stark reminder of a chapter both teams would rather leave behind. In Marrakesh, the expectation is simple: football decided by honest competition, not history’s shadows.

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By Kunle Solaja, Casablanca

As Nigeria and Algeria prepare for another high-stakes meeting, their long and eventful rivalry offers a rich statistical and historical backdrop, stretching back more than five decades across Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON), World Cup qualifiers, Olympic qualifiers, friendlies and continental games.

The first recorded clash between Nigeria and Algeria came at the African Games in Lagos on 10 January 1973, ending in a 2–2 draw. Five years later, Algeria edged Nigeria 1–0 at the African Games in Algiers, setting the tone for a rivalry often defined by narrow margins.

One of the most significant moments arrived on 22 March 1980, when Nigeria defeated Algeria 3–0 in Lagos to lift their first-ever Africa Cup of Nations title, a landmark victory that remains etched in Nigerian football history. Algeria, however, responded decisively in the early 1980s, beating Nigeria home and away in the 1982 FIFA World Cup qualifying series—2–0 in Lagos and 2–1 in Constantine—to secure their maiden World Cup appearance.

AFCON meetings between the two sides have been frequent and dramatic. Algeria claimed a 2–1 win in Benghazi in 1982 and were later involved in the infamous goalless draw in Bouaké in 1984. In 1988, both nations crossed paths three times in quick succession—Olympic qualifiers home and away, and an AFCON semi-final in Rabat that ended 2–2 before Nigeria edged a marathon penalty shoot-out 9–8.

The rivalry reached another peak in Algiers in 1990. Algeria hammered Nigeria 5–1 in the opening match of the tournament and went on to defeat the Super Eagles 1–0 in the final, securing their first AFCON title and completing a remarkable home triumph.

World Cup qualification encounters have repeatedly tied the destinies of both teams together. Nigeria’s 4–1 win in Lagos on 13 July 1993 and the crucial 1–1 draw in Algiers on 8 October 1993 sent the Super Eagles to their first World Cup, while Algeria again played the role of gatekeeper. In later years, Nigeria enjoyed memorable away successes, including a stunning 5–2 win in Oran in 2005.

Recent meetings underline how evenly balanced the contest remains. Nigeria recorded AFCON wins in Bamako in 2002 and Benguela in 2010, while Algeria knocked Nigeria out of AFCON 2019 in Cairo with a dramatic 2–1 semi-final victory. In World Cup qualifiers, Nigeria’s 3–1 win in Uyo in 2016 was followed by a 2017 draw in Constantine, later forfeited by Nigeria. Friendly encounters in Austria (2020) and Oran (2022) have both gone Algeria’s way.

From Lagos to Algiers, Constantine to Cairo, the numbers tell a story of shifting dominance, shared milestones and repeated intersections on the continental and global stage. As the two sides meet again, history suggests that Nigeria versus Algeria is rarely routine—and almost always significant.

Algeria vs Nigeria: Tale of the Tape

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