Nigeria AFCON 2024 squad list, fixtures and opponents: Super Eagles stats and facts

Led by José Peseiro, Nigeria will participate in the AFCON 2024 in Ivory Coast.

In this article, we'll provide all the information about their group opponents, schedule and squad.

This year's competition is officially named AFCON 2023 since it was initially scheduled to take place last year but was postponed until January-February 2024.

Nigeria AFCON 2024 schedule

Knockout stages

After finishing second in Group A, Nigeria advanced to the Round of 16, where they defeated Cameroon by two unanswered goals.

In the quarter-finals, they beat Angola more comfortably than the 1-0 victory suggests.

In the semi-finals, they met regular adversaries South Africa. In arguably one of the games of the tournament, the Super Eagles eventually ran out 4-2 winners after a shootout, following a dramatic 1-1 draw after extra time.

27 January, 9 pm: Nigeria 2-0 Cameroon, Stade Félix-Houphouët-Boigny
2 February, 6 pm: Nigeria 1-0 Angola, Stade Félix-Houphouët-Boigny
7 February, 6pm: Nigeria 1-1 (4-2pen), South Africa, Stade de la Paix, Bouaké

William Troost Ekong, Nigeria — oto by Icon Sport

Group stage

Nigeria played in Group A, where they met Equatorial Guinea, Ivory Coast and Guinea-Bissau. The Super Eagles‘ first two group matches took place at the Stade Olympique Alassane Ouattara D'Anyama, while their third game was played at the Stade Félix-Houphouët-Boigny in Abidjan.

14 January, 3 pm: Nigeria 1-1 Equatorial Guinea, Alassane Ouattara D’Anyama Olympic Stadium
18 January, 6 pm: Ivory Coast 0-1 Nigeria, Alassane Ouattara D’Anyama Olympic Stadium
22 January, 6 pm: Guinea-Bissau 0-1 Nigeria, Stade Félix-Houphouët-Boigny

How did Nigeria qualify for AFCON 2024?

In Group A of the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers, Nigeria finished on top with 15 points, totalling five wins and just one defeat. It was an admirable performance, marked in particular by the 10-0 thrashing of Sao Tome and Principe.

Game 1: Nigeria (2-1) Sierra Leone
Game 2: Sao Tome and Principe (0-10) Nigeria
Game 3: Nigeria (0-1) Guinea-Bissau
Game 4: Guinea-Bissau (0-1) Nigeria
Game 5: Sierra Leone (2-3) Nigeria
Game 6: Nigeria (6-0) Sao Tome and Principe

Nigeria's Super Eagles: Last 10 games before AFCON 2024

Zimbabwe (1-1) Nigeria – 2026 World Cup Qualifiers
Nigeria (1-1) Lesotho – 2026 World Cup Qualifiers
Mozambique (2-3) Nigeria – Friendly
Saudi Arabia (2-2) Nigeria – Friendly
Nigeria (6-0) Sao Tome and Principe – AFCON 2023 Qualifiers
Sierra Leone (2-3) Nigeria – AFCON 2023 Qualifiers
Guinea-Bissau (0-1) Nigeria – AFCON 2023 Qualifiers
Nigeria (0-1) Guinea-Bissau – AFCON 2023 Qualifiers
Portugal (4-0) Nigeria – Friendly
Costa Rica (2-0) Nigeria – Friendly

Can the Super Eagles claim their fourth AFCON title?

Winners of the Africa Cup of Nations on three occasions (1980, 1994 and 2013), the Super Eagles are undeniably one of the heavyweights of African football. However, it has already been more than a decade since they last won the prestigious continental tournament. They were also not present at the last World Cup in Qatar.

The Super Eagles had an impressive qualifying campaign, claiming 15 points from a possible 18. However, despite being the clear favourites, Peseiro's men were unable to win their last two competitive fixtures.

Given the presence of hosts Ivory Coast in Group A, as well as Guinea-Bissau (who the Super Eagles lost to in the qualifying rounds), Nigeria will have to be at their best if they intend to reach the knockout stages.

Nigeria's team coach: José Peseiro

Peseiro became Nigeria's coach in May 2022, after the Super Eagles failed to qualify for the FIFA World Cup. The 63-year-old has had an interesting coaching career, managing clubs like FC Porto, Sporting CP, Sporting Braga, as well as Venezuela and Saudi Arabia's national teams. In fact, Peseiro was Real Madrid's assistant coach between 2003 and 2004.

With that in mind, other than their AFCON 2023 qualifying campaign, the Super Eagles' performances under Peseiro have not been up to expectations. The Portuguese coach will have a chance to redeem himself at the Nations Cup.

Photo by Icon Sport

Player to watch: Victor Osimhen

An obvious choice, but Osimhen is still the man most likely to make the difference for the Super Eagles. His athletic frame, upright in posture, defined in shape, rangy in length – is his distinguishing feature. Not only does it differentiate, it disrupts and dominates too.

He doesn’t offer much in terms of a passing threat, but he gets into positions inside the box off dribbles, and movement that’s his primary ability. He utilises his body to good effect to pin and disrupt defenders when rumbling around the attacking third. He has a good burst and above-average speed but he is not especially quick; he is steadier and more functional.

Osimhen has everything: he's good on the ball, he scores goals and he helps his team. His quick movements are crucial in ‘killing' the opposition defenders. You just have to give a metre of space and he will hurt you.

The 25-year-old has been immense for Napoli this campaign. He has netted seven times, registered three assists in 13 games. He is undoubtedly the man to bang in the goals for the Super Eagles.

Victor Osimhen Super Eagles AFCON 2024 — Credit: Icon Sport

Nigeria's AFCON 2024 preparations

The Super Eagles suffered a 2-0 loss to the Syli National of Guinea on Monday 8 January, at the Bani Yas Stadium. They also played against a local Dubai team behind closed doors on 7 January, in a comfortable 12-0 victory.

However, the Super Eagles have been dealt a huge blow with Victor Boniface and Umar Sadiq having to pull out due to injury. The pair has since been replaced by Terem Moffi and Paul Onuachu.