1994: a winning debut
Nigeria's super eagles made their first FIFA World Cup appearance in the United States in 1994, going further than any African debutant had before. In Group D, Nigeria opened with a 3–0 win over Bulgaria in Dallas on 21 June, goals from Rashidi Yekini, Daniel Amokachi and Emmanuel Amuneke, before losing 2–1 to Argentina in Foxborough on 25 June, both Argentine goals coming from Claudio Caniggia S1S2. A 2–0 win over Greece in Foxborough on 30 June, sealed by a stoppage-time strike from Amokachi, was enough to top the group S2. The Round of 16 brought an early end to the run: Nigeria led Italy for most of the match at Foxboro Stadium on 5 July before Roberto Baggio equalised in the 90th minute and converted an extra-time penalty, giving Italy a 2–1 win S3
1998: the same wall, twice
Nigeria returned to the World Cup in France in 1998 and again reached the Round of 16. In the group stage the Super Eagles beat Spain 3–2 in Nantes on 13 June — Fernando Hierro had put Spain ahead before Nigeria fought back to win — as part of a campaign that again topped their group S4. The knockout stage repeated the 1994 pattern: Denmark eliminated Nigeria 4–1 in Saint-Denis on 28 June, with Denmark two goals up inside the first quarter-hour through Marc Rieper and Brian Laudrup before further second-half goals from Ebbe Sand and Thomas Helveg S5
2002, 2010 and 2018: group-stage exits
Nigeria's next three World Cup appearances ended at the group stage. At the 2002 tournament in Japan and South Korea, Nigeria opened Group F with a 1–0 loss to Argentina in Ibaraki on 2 June, Gabriel Batistuta scoring the only goal, and went on to lose 2–1 to Sweden and draw 0–0 with England, finishing bottom of a group that also eliminated Argentina S6. At the 2010 tournament in South Africa, Nigeria lost 1–0 to Argentina and 2–1 to Greece before drawing 2–2 with South Korea in its final group match, again finishing bottom of Group B S7. At the 2018 tournament in Russia, Nigeria beat Iceland 2–0 in Volgograd — both goals from Ahmed Musa — but lost to Croatia and Argentina either side of that win, and was eliminated in the group stage for the third time in four tournaments S9
2014: the third Round of 16
Nigeria's best modern World Cup campaign came in Brazil in 2014, where the team again reached — and again lost in — the Round of 16. Vincent Enyeama's goalkeeping anchored a Nigerian side that advanced from its group before meeting France in Brasília on 30 June; the match was goalless until a late Paul Pogba header and a Joseph Yobo own goal gave France a 2–0 win and eliminated Nigeria S8. That result left Nigeria's best-ever World Cup finish tied between the 1994, 1998 and 2014 campaigns, each ending at the Round of 16 without further progress S3S5S8
Missed tournaments: 2006, 2022 and 2026
Nigeria has missed three World Cups since its 1994 debut. In qualifying for the 2006 tournament in Germany, Nigeria finished level on points with Angola in a five-team group but lost out on a head-to-head tiebreaker after a 1–0 defeat in Luanda, handing Angola their first-ever World Cup berth instead S13. Qualification for the 2022 tournament in Qatar came down to a two-legged play-off against Ghana that finished 1–1 on aggregate — a scoreless first leg in Kumasi followed by a 1–1 draw in Abuja — with Ghana going through on away goals S13. The most recent absence, from the 2026 tournament, followed one of the most contentious qualifying campaigns in the team's history. Having finished second in a six-team qualifying group behind South Africa, Nigeria reached the CAF play-off final but lost it to DR Congo on 16 November 2025 in Rabat, a match that finished 1–1 after extra time before DR Congo won 4–3 on penalties S13S10. The Nigeria Football Federation subsequently filed a formal complaint with FIFA, alleging that DR Congo had fielded players who did not meet Congolese nationality requirements despite holding FIFA-recognised passports; FIFA's disciplinary process reviewed the complaint and dismissed it in full, finding no breach of eligibility rules S10S11. Nigeria's federation confirmed it would pursue an appeal against that decision, though no ruling had reversed the result at time of writing, leaving DR Congo's play-off win — and Nigeria's absence from the 2026 finals — in place S12
Overall record
Across its six World Cup appearances, Nigeria has never progressed beyond the Round of 16, reaching that stage in 1994, 1998 and 2014 and being eliminated in the group phase in 2002, 2010 and 2018 S3S5S8. The team's World Cup campaigns are closely tied to its wider record described in super eagles and history of football in nigeria, with several of the same players — Amokachi, Amuneke and others from the 1994 squad — also central to Nigeria's Olympic football history, covered at nigeria at the olympics S1S2