BY KUNLE SOLAJA.

Two former African champions, Algeria and Nigeria who failed to make it to the 2022 World Cup are facing each other tonight as part of their rebuilding process.

In continuation of In continuation of tradition,  www.sportsvillagesquare.com  presents key points of interest.

• The biggest away defeat Nigeria ever inflicted on Algeria was in Oran, the venue of tonight’s match. In the desperate bid to make it to Germany 2006, the Super-charged Super Eagles beat Algeria 5-2 in Oran. It was the first time the team had defeated Algeria on their home soil.

• When both teams met at the semi finals of the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations, it was Nigeria’s 92nd match in the competition’s history and the seventh semi final match the Super Eagles played in the 63-year old competition.

• Algeria on the other side played their 73rd Africa Cup of Nations’ match.

• Nigeria’s national team won its first Africa Cup of Nations’ title by beating Algeria 3-0 in 1980.

• Ten years later, Algeria won their first Africa Cup of Nations by beating Nigeria 1-0 in 1990.

• In qualifying for the World Cup for the first time, Algeria used Nigeria as the stepping stone in October 1981.

• Nigeria responded by also qualifying for the World Cup for the first time in October 1993, using Algeria as the stepping stone.

• Nigeria’s Super Eagles’ unbeaten run of 34 matches in the World Cup qualifying series was technically broken by Algeria in November 2017 when FIFA reversed the on-field result of 1-1 to a 0-3 draw by Nigeria following Super Eagles’ fielding of Shehu Abdullahi who on account of yellow cards in preceding matches was ineligible. Otherwise, Nigeria’s unbeaten run could have been 35. The figure 34 however still remains the longest in Africa. Nigeria last lost a World Cup qualifying match in Luanda on June 20, 2004 when Angola had a 1-0 win in the race to Germany 2006. Nigeria’s record is the second longest unbeaten run globally after that of Spain’s 59. Nigeria’s 34 unbeaten run is even four ahead that of 2014 World Cup winners, Germany. 

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

• Both teams lost to European sides on the same day at the Brazil 2014 Round of 16 encounters. Nigeria lost 0-2 to France; Algeria lost 1-2 to Germany. If the two African teams had won their respective Round of 16 matches, they would have clashed in the quarter finals, thus an African team could had gotten to the semi finals. It would have also been the first time two African teams clashed at the World Cup.

• When both teams met in Uyo in November 2016, it was Nigeria’s milestone of 100th World Cup qualifying match and 50th home game.

• Former Nigeria’s strongman of defence, Bright Omokaro, got his nickname of “Ten-Ten” when he hacked down an Algerian player who could neither return to the field nor be substituted and that evened the line-up after Nigeria’s Ademola Adeshina had been red-carded during a semi final clash of the two teams at Maroc ‘88. Maverick Nigerian radio commentator, the late Ernest Okonkwo screamed: “Omokaro has made it ten-ten.”  From then, ‘Ten-Ten’ became the nickname of the hard tackling defender.

• Austin ‘Jay Jay’ Okocha scored the first of his 16 international goals for Nigeria when he converted free kick against Algeria in a 13 July 1993 World Cup qualifying match in Lagos which Nigeria won 4-1.

• Austin Okocha’s brother, Emma Okocha’s only goal for Nigeria was scored against Algeria in the opening match of the 1990 Africa Cup of Nations in Algiers. Nigeria lost 5-1.

ALGERIA – NIGERIA: HEAD-TO-HEAD

P W D L F A

Algeria 22 10 3 9      29 28

Nigeria 22 9  3  10  28  29

• 10 Jan.1973 (2AAG) Nigeria 2-2 Algeria
• 28 Mar.1978 (3AAG)Algeria 1-0 Nigeria
• 22 Mar. 1980 (Afcon) Nigeria 3-0 Algeria
• 10 Oct. 1981 (WCq)Nigeria 0-2 Algeria
• 30 Oct. 1981 (WCq)Algeria 2-1 Nigeria
• 10 Mar. 1982 (Afcon) Algeria 2-1 Nigeria
• 11 Mar. 1984 (Afcon) Algeria 0-0 Nigeria
• 15 Jan. 1988 (Oq) Algeria 1-0 Nigeria
• 30 Jan. 1988 (Oq) Nigeria 2-0 Algeria
• 23 Mar.1988 (Afcon) Algeria 1-1 Nigeria *(8 -9 penalty shoot-out)
• 2 Mar. 1990 (Afcon) Algeria 5-1 Nigeria
• 16 Mar. 1990 (Afcon) Algeria 1-0 Nigeria
• 13 July 1993 (WCq) Nigeria 4-1 Algeria
• 8 Oct. 1993 (WCq) Algeria 1-1 Nigeria
• 21 Jan. 2002 (Afcon) Algeria 0-1 Nigeria
• 3 Jul. 2004 (WCq) Nigeria 1-0 Algeria 
• 8 Sep. 2005 (WCq) Algeria 2-5 Nigeria
• 30 Jan.2010 (Afcon) Algeria 0-1 Nigeria
• 12 Nov.2016 (WCq) Nigeria 3-1 Algeria
• 10 Nov. 2017 (WCq) Algeria 3-0 Nigeria * actual scores 1-1. Match awarded against Nigeria for fielding ineligible player)
• 14 Jul. 2019 (Afcon) Algeria 2-1 Nigeria
• 9. Oct. 2020 (F) Algeria 1-0 Nigeria