The Super Eagles will be playing their 50th World Cup qualifying home match as they tackle the Fennecs of Algeria at the Godswill Akpabio International Stadium, Uyo on Saturday.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that in the previous 49 home matches, Eagles won 39, drew seven and lost three.
The first home match for Nigeria was on Sept. 10, 1960 when the team tied 2-2 with Ghana’s Black Stars in Lagos.
The team had earlier lost the first leg 4-1 to the Ghanaians in Accra and crashed out of the race to the 1962 World Cup finals in Chile.
The last was against the Sihlangu of Swaziland at the Adokiye Amiesieamaka Stadium in Port Harcourt on Nov. 17, 2015 in the preliminary round for Russia 2018.
Nigeria won 2-0, courtesy of goals by Moses Simon and Efe Ambrose, following a 0-0 draw, in Lobamba four days earlier.
The six other drawn matches were against Cameroon on Dec. 7, 1968 (1-1 in Lagos); against Sudan on Sept. 13, 1969 (2-2 in Ibadan).
The team also drew against Tanzania on Dec. 6, 1980 (1-1 in Lagos) and against Angola on June 18, 2005 (1-1 in Kano).
Also, Eagles drew against Tunisia on Sept. 6, 2009 (2-2 in Abuja) and against Kenya on March 23, 2013 (1-1 in Calabar).
The Super Eagles’ three losses were against Ghana on Feb. 10, 1973 (the Black Stars were leading 3-2 in Lagos when the match was abandoned; FIFA awarded it 2-0 to Ghana).
Their other loss matches were against Tunisia on Nov. 12, 1977 in Lagos (1-0 through a first half own goal by defender Godwin Odiye) and against Algeria on Oct. 10, 1981 (2-0 in Lagos).
However, the Super Eagles have never lost a World Cup qualifying home match played outside Lagos.
In fact, the only times they have failed to win a World Cup qualifying home match away from Lagos was against Sudan when they drew 2-2 in Ibadan in 1969.
And against Angola in Kano, they drew 1-1 in 2005 and against Tunisia in Abuja it was 2-2 in 2009 and against Kenya 1-1 in Calabar in 2013.
Here is a full list of all Eagles’ home matches.
ALL THE EAGLES’ HOME MATCHES
10/09/1960: Nigeria 2 Ghana 2 (Lagos)
07/12/1968: Nigeria 1 Cameroon 1 (Lagos)
10/05/1969: Nigeria 2 Ghana 1 (Ibadan)
13/09/1969: Nigeria 2 Sudan 2 (Ibadan)
08/11/1969: Nigeria 2 Morocco 0 (Ibadan)
05/08/1972: Nigeria 2 Congo 1 (Ibadan)
10/02/1973: Nigeria 2 Ghana 3 (Lagos, abandoned)
30/10/1976: Nigeria 6 Sierra Leone 2 (Lagos)
10/07/1977: Nigeria 4 Cote d’Ivoire 0 (Lagos)
08/10/1977: Nigeria 4 Egypt 0 (Lagos)
12/11/1977: Nigeria 0 Tunisia 1 (Lagos)
12/07/1980: Nigeria 2 Tunisia 0 (Lagos)
06/12/1980: Nigeria 1 Tanzania 1 (Lagos)
25/04/1981: Nigeria 1 Guinea 0 (Lagos)
10/10/1981: Nigeria 0 Algeria 2 (Lagos)
20/10/1984: Nigeria 3 Liberia 0 (Lagos)
20/04/1985: Nigeria 3 Kenya 0 (Lagos)
06/07/1985: Nigeria 1 Tunisia 0 (Lagos)
07/01/1989: Nigeria 1 Gabon 0 (Enugu)
10/06/1989: Nigeria 2 Cameroon 0 (Ibadan)
12/08/1989: Nigeria 1 Angola 0 (Lagos)
10/10/1992: Nigeria 4 South Africa 0
27/02/1993: Nigeria 2 Congo 0 (Enugu)
13/07/1993: Nigeria 4 Algeria 1 (Lagos)
25/09/1993: Nigeria 4 Cote d’Ivoire 1 (Lagos)
09/11/1996: Nigeria 2 Burkina Faso 0 (Lagos)
05/04/1997: Nigeria 2 Guinea 1 (Lagos)
07/06/1997: Nigeria 3 Kenya 0
22/04/2000: Nigeria 4 Eritrea 0 (Lagos)
17/06/2000: Nigeria 2 Sierra Leone 0 (Lagos)
27/01/2001: Nigeria 3 Sudan 0 (Port Harcourt)
05/05/2001: Nigeria 2 Liberia 0 (Port Harcourt)
29/07/2001: Nigeria 3 Ghana 0 (Port Harcourt)
05/06/2004: Nigeria 2 Rwanda 0 (Abuja)
03/07/2004: Nigeria 1 Algeria 0 (Abuja)
26/03/2005: Nigeria 2 Gabon 0 (Port Harcourt)
18/06/2005: Nigeria 1 Angola 1 (Kano)
08/10/2005: Nigeria 5 Zimbabwe 1 (Abuja)
01/06/2008: Nigeria 2 South Africa 0 (Abuja)
21/06/2008: Nigeria 2 Equatorial Guinea 0 (Abuja)
11/10/2008: Nigeria 4 Sierra Leone 1 (Abuja)
07/06/2009: Nigeria 3 Kenya 0 (Abuja)
06/09/2009: Nigeria 2 Tunisia 2 (Abuja)
11/10/2009: Nigeria 1 Mozambique 0 (Abuja)
03/06/2012: Nigeria 1 Namibia 0 (Calabar)
23/03/2013: Nigeria 1 Kenya 1 (Calabar)
07/09/2013: Nigeria 2 Malawi 0 (Calabar)
16/11/2013: Nigeria 2 Ethiopia 0
17/11/2015: Nigeria 2 Swaziland 0 (Port Harcourt).
