Odds of Nigeria winning the 2014 World Cup

Nigeria’s of Chances of Winning the 2014 World Cup in Brazil

Nigeria’s football team the Super Eagles as they are commonly referred to, is the African Champion and the winner of the 2013 African Cup of Nations. They qualified for the World Cup with an unbeaten record. This will be the fifth appearance for Nigeria in the World Cup tournament and they will be looking to improve their performance at the World Cup this year in Brazil. Nigeria was knocked out at the Group stages of the 2010 World Cup in South Africa. Nigeria finds itself in Group F alongside Argentina, Bosnia-Herzegovina and Iran. Nigeria will need to make past the group stages in order to raise their hopes of winning the 2014 World Cup in Brazil.

Nigeria’s World Cup Qualification

Nigeria never lost a match in the qualifying matches for the 2014 World Cup, finishing top in the group with three draws and seven wins. They thrashed Ethiopia 4-1 on aggregate in the playoffs. They were also the African Cup champions therefore qualifying for the World Cup.

Group F Hopefuls

Group F is not the most difficult group, however, Nigeria must be very cautious if they want to proceed to the next round. The Super Eagles have a better chance of beating Iran to confirm at least one win in their group opening match. However, they face fierce opposition from Argentina in their last group match. Nigeria might have to fight for the runners up position in Group F with Bosnia-Herzegovina and Iran. Little known Bosnia Herzegovina will be making their first appearance at the World Cup tournament and they will provide a strong opposition for the number two position in this group.

Argentina are the favorites to win the World Cup after Brazil and they will be a hard nut to crack for Nigeria. They have incredible talent that is bound to unsettle the Super Eagles. The Super Eagles will have a difficult time containing the Argentinian forwards like the great Lionel Messi, Sergio Aguero, Gonzalo Higuain and Angel Di Maria. If Argentina proves that it is too strong for, Nigeria the Super Eagles will need a win against Bosnia and Iran. Perhaps Nigeria should be more worried about beating Bosnia-Herzegovina because they can score goals and have world class players like Edin Dzeko of Manchester City and Miralem Pjanic of As Roma. Iran is not expected to offer much opposition, but they could just disappoint some teams from proceeding to the next round. Nigeria must avoid conceding goals and exposing their backline defense.

Nigeria’s Star Players

The Nigerian squad is full of stars, like Fenerbahce’s sensational forward Emmanuel Emenike, Ahmed Musa of CSKA Moscow, Liverpool’s fast paced Victor Moses, Chelsea’s free flowing mid-fielder John Obi Mikel and many others. Nigeria’s goalkeeper Vincent Enyeama has also been sensational for Lille in France.

The combination of Emmanuel Emenike, Victor Moses and Ahmed Musa in attacking will pose a major threat for any teams dense. With that striking force they should be able to thrash Iran and confirm at least 3 points. The deciding match for Nigeria will be the match against Bosnia-Herzegovina with whom they must fight for the runners up position in Group F.

Nigeria’s coach Stephen Keshi will be steering the team to the 2014 World Cup in Brazil with the hope that they will not be bundled out of the group stages like the previous tournaments. His tactics have so far won Nigeria the African Cup of Nations Championship. However the World Cup is a whole different ball game and Nigeria must be in the finest form to win it.