Despite Nigeria not being at the 2026 FIFA World Cup, the Super Eagles still hold on to some important records after Africa's best performance ever at the tournament. Morocco took Nigeria's spot as Africa's highest-scoring team, and Ghana now has more World Cup wins than the Eagles. Still, some records from the Super Eagles remain after the continent's historic run, writes PETER AKINBO.
Nigeria is still the West African country with the most FIFA World Cup appearances. The Super Eagles have qualified for six tournaments: 1994, 1998, 2002, 2010, 2014, and 2018. Ghana's participation in 2026 was only their fifth time, while Senegal and Ivory Coast have both gone four times. This leaves Nigeria at the top of the list.
The Super Eagles have three knockout round appearances, which Morocco has now matched but not surpassed. Nigeria reached the Round of 16 in 1994, 1998, and 2014. Morocco joined them by going through the groups in 1986, 2022, and 2026. Morocco's journey ended when they lost to France in the quarter-finals, so they cannot go ahead.
Ahmed Musa is still the only African player to score two braces in World Cup history. The former Super Eagles captain scored twice against Argentina in Brazil 2014 and again with a double against Iceland at Russia 2018. Even with strong performances from African players in 2026, no one matched Musa's special record.
Former Nigeria captain Austin ‘Jay-Jay’ Okocha still holds the record for the most successful dribbles in a single World Cup match. He completed an amazing 15 successful dribbles against Italy in the Round of 16 at USA '94. FIFA confirmed this record before the 2026 tournament. No players this year came close to breaking Okocha's 32-year-old record.
Nigeria's incredible achievement from France '98 is still in place. The Super Eagles were ranked 74th in the world when they topped Group D, beating Paraguay, Spain, and Bulgaria to reach the Round of 16. This made them the lowest-ranked team in the FIFA rankings era to make it past the group stage. Cape Verde almost broke this record by reaching the Round of 32 in their World Cup debut, but they arrived in North America ranked 64th, which is 10 spots higher than Nigeria's ranking in 1998.
Nigeria is also the only African country to have beaten Spain in a World Cup match. The Super Eagles shocked the Europeans with a 3-2 victory in Nantes during France '98, thanks to Sunday Oliseh's famous late goal. Cape Verde came close in 2026, managing a goalless draw with Spain in the group stage before getting knocked out.
Former Super Eagles goalkeeper Vincent Enyeama remains the only African keeper to be named Man of The Match in a World Cup loss. He gave one of the best goalkeeping performances against Argentina in 2010, making incredible saves to keep Lionel Messi from scoring, even though Nigeria lost 1-0. More than ten years later, no other African goalkeeper has reached this unusual honor.
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