Niger_national_football_team

Niger national football team

Niger national football team

National association football team

This article is about the men's team. For the women's team, see Niger women's national football team.

The Niger national football team (French: Equipe de football du Niger) [2][3] represents Niger in international football through the Nigerien Football Federation, a member of Confederation of African Football (CAF). Niger plays in the colors of the flag of Niger, white, green and orange. Their nickname comes from the Dama gazelle, native to Niger, the Hausa name of which is Meyna or Ménas[4] The Dama appears on their badge in the colors of the national flag. [5][6]

Quick Facts Nickname(s), Association ...

History

Although one of the less successful sides in the strong West Africa region, Niger has produced a couple of noteworthy runs in qualifying tournaments.

One of their best performances was in the 1982 FIFA World Cup qualifiers in which Niger eliminated Somalia and Togo on the away goals rule, but were beaten by Algeria in the third round where only eight teams were left. Notable players in this run included Jacques Komlan, Hassane Adamou and Moussa Kanfideni.

In 1990, they set a record by thrashing Mauritania 7–1 in continental qualifiers, the highest positive score margin for the Mena.

In the 2004 African Nations Cup qualifiers, Niger won all their home games (including a win over Guinea) to finish on nine points, just three short of qualification.

The Niger squad is also plagued by financial concerns, which have caused them to withdraw from international tournaments on more than one occasion. The Nigerien Football Federation would have turned to fundraising to pay for their trip to the 2010 African Cup of Nations in Angola, had they qualified.[7]

On 10 October 2010, Niger earned a shock 1–0 win over Egypt at home in the 2012 African Cup of Nations qualification.

Despite a failed run for AFCON 2010, Niger hosted and won the UEMOA Tournament in November 2010, and followed up with their first ever qualification for the African Nations Championship in February 2011.[8]

After home wins over South Africa and Sierra Leone, on 8 October 2011 Niger qualified for the Africa Cup of Nations for the first time in its history, despite losing 3–0 in Egypt.[9][10] Niger, South Africa and Sierra Leone all ended with nine points, but Niger qualified thanks to their superior head-to-head record against their rivals.

At the 2012 African Cup of Nations, Niger was placed in Group C alongside co-hosts Gabon, Tunisia and Morocco. In their opening match, Niger lost 2–0 to Gabon, while against Tunisia in Libreville, Niger trailed 1–0 on an early goal from Youssef Msakni in which he dribbled his way through for a fine goal after just four minutes. William N'Gounou, however, then made history by scoring Niger's first ever goal at the African Cup of Nations. A 1–1 draw looked likely, but Issam Jemâa's goal would eliminate Niger from the tournament. In the final match, Niger faced Morocco in a match featuring two sides already eliminated from the tournament. Younès Belhanda scored on an assist from Marouane Chamakh just 11 minutes from time to give Morocco a 1–0 victory.[11]

Later in 2012, Niger repeated its success in African Nations Cup qualifiers by beating Guinea in a two-legged series to qualify for the 2013 Africa Cup of Nations. Guinea won the first match 1–0, but Niger won 2–0 in the second leg. Goalscorers Mohamed Chikoto and Issoufou Boubacar had sent Niger to another African Cup of Nations tournament.[12]

In their first match at the 2013 Africa Cup of Nations, Niger lost 1–0 to Mali at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium in Port Elizabeth. Mali captain Seydou Keita handed his nation the hard-fought victory five minutes before the end of the encounter. Niger then earned their first point ever at the African Cup of nations after holding DR Congo to a 0–0 draw. In the third match, Ghana outclassed Niger 3–0 to reach the quarter-finals as Group B winners.[13] Niger finished bottom of the group.

On 22 May 2014, Niger played a friendly match against Ukraine, marking the first ever match against a European nation. Oumarou Bale scored in the 56th minute, cancelling out a 20th-minute goal from Ivan Ordets before Ukraine won on a goal from Taras Stepanenko as the match finished 2–1.[14][15]

Results and fixtures

Main article: Niger national football team results (2020–present)

The following is a list of match results in the last 12 months, as well as any future matches that have been scheduled.

  Win   Draw   Loss   Fixture

2023

18 June 2023 AFCON qualification Tanzania  1–0  Niger Dar es Salaam, Tanzania
16:00 UTC+3
  • Msuva 69'
 Report Stadium: National Stadium
Referee: Mohamed Al Sayd (Egypt)
7 September 2023 AFCON qualification Niger  0–2  Uganda Marrakesh, Morocco
20:00 UTC+1 Report
Stadium: Stade de Marrakech
Referee: Jean Jacques Ndala Ngambo (DR Congo)
14 October Friendly Niger  3–0  Somalia Berrechid, Morocco
Amoustapha 9'
A. Wonkoye 26' (pen.)
Goumey 74'		 Stadium: Berrechid Municipal Stadium
17 October Friendly Libya  1–1  Niger Khouribga, Morocco
16:30 UTC+1
  • El Ghadi 59'
 Report
  • Sabo 75'
 Stadium: Phosphate Stadium
Referee: Mustapha Kechaf (Morocco)
18 November 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification Niger  0–1  Tanzania Marrakesh, Morocco
17:00 UTC+1 Report
Stadium: Stade de Marrakech
Attendance: 178
Referee: Lotfi Bekouassa (Algeria)
21 November 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification Niger  2–1  Zambia Marrakesh, Morocco
20:00 UTC+1
Report
Stadium: Stade de Marrakech
Attendance: 200
Referee: Abdulrazg Ahmed (Libya)

2024

8 January Friendly Senegal  1–0  Niger Diamniadio, Senegal
18:00 UTC±0
Report Stadium: Diamniadio Olympic Stadium
22 March Friendly Niger  1–2  Togo
26 March Friendly Niger  1–1  Burkina Faso
June 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification Congo  v  Niger
June 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification Eritrea  Cancelled  Niger
Note: Eritrea withdrew from the qualifiers before the first matches were played.

Coaching history

Players

Current squad

The following players were called up for the friendly against  Senegal on 8 January 2024.[17]

Caps and goals are correct as of 8 January 2024, after the match against  Senegal.

More information No., Pos. ...

Recent call-ups

The following players have been called up for Niger in the last 12 months.

More information Pos., Player ...

Records

As of 8 January 2024[18]
Players in bold are still active with Niger.

Most appearances

More information Rank, Player ...

Top goalscorers

More information Rank, Player ...

Competitive record

FIFA World Cup

More information FIFA World Cup, Qualification ...

Africa Cup of Nations

Main article: Niger at the Africa Cup of Nations
More information Africa Cup of Nations record, Year ...
Niger national team against Morocco, 9 February 2011

African Nations Championship

More information African Nations Championship record, Appearances: 4 ...

Head-to-head record

As of 21 November 2023
More information Opponent, Games ...

References

  1. [1]
    "The FIFA/Coca-Cola World Ranking". FIFA. 4 April 2024. Retrieved 4 April 2024.
  2. [2]
    Orange 2012 Afcon qualifiers :130 Million FCFA for the Menas Archived 2011-11-09 at the Wayback Machine. 22/05/2011 StarAfrica sports.
  3. [3]
    Menas to test Pharaohs form Archived 2010-10-13 at the Wayback Machine. Confederation of African Football. 10-09-2010
  4. [4]
    Dama Gazelle Nanger dama Archived 2015-09-24 at the Wayback Machine. Sahara Conservation Fund, 2007, 2011.
  5. [5]
    "CAN 2019 : la liste du Niger contre l'Egypte sans Maazou". Afrik-Foot. March 21, 2019. Archived from the original on November 15, 2021. Retrieved November 15, 2021.
  6. [6]
    "Niger team of 2019". national-football-teams.com. National Football Teams. Archived from the original on 2019-03-30. Retrieved 2019-03-30.
  7. [7]
    "Project MENA is dedicated to assisting MENA, the Niger national soccer team. The project aimed to raise enough money to send the team to compete for the 2010 African Cup in Angola". Archived from the original on 2008-04-26.
  8. [8]
    CHAN 2011 : Un Niger héroïque mais éliminé par le Soudan – Football/CHAN 2011 – RFI Archived 2012-01-24 at the Wayback Machine 2011-02-19
  9. [9]
    "Niger in historic qualification despite Cairo loss". BBC Sport. British Broadcasting Corporation. 2011-10-08. Archived from the original on 2012-01-19. Retrieved 2011-10-08.
  10. [10]
    Fixtures, results and tables for the qualifiers for the 2012 Africa Cup of Nations to be co-hosted by Gabon and Equatorial Guinea. Archived 2012-01-28 at the Wayback Machine BBC Sport.
  11. [11]
    "Niger 0-1 Morocco". BBC Sport. Archived from the original on 2021-11-15. Retrieved 2021-11-15.
  12. [12]
    "2013 Africa Cup of Nations Qualifiers - Qualifier Rounds - MTNFootball". Archived from the original on 2012-10-09. Retrieved 2012-10-16.
  13. [13]
    "Ghana cruises into African Cup quarters". GhanaWeb. January 28, 2013. Archived from the original on November 15, 2021. Retrieved November 15, 2021.
  14. [14]
    "Страница не найдена". shakhtar.com. Archived from the original on 2021-11-15. Retrieved 2021-11-15.
  15. [15]
    "Ukraine-Niger | European Qualifiers". Archived from the original on 2014-06-06. Retrieved 2014-06-04.
  16. [16]
    "Martial named Niger coach". BBC News. 26 November 2002. Archived from the original on 12 May 2021. Retrieved 17 October 2012.
  17. [17]
    "La Liste". Facebook. Fédération Nigérienne De Football.
  18. [18]
    "Niger". National Football Teams. Archived from the original on 2023-09-09. Retrieved 2022-06-15.
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