Is there a More Consistent AFCON Team than Nigeria?

[kalani JR]

When you also lump in all other age related and female football at every level, Nigeria is unrivalled in African football.

unrivaled or underachieved?

[pajimoh]

When you also lump in all other age related and female football at every level, Nigeria is unrivalled in African football.

unrivaled or underachieved?

Unrivalled yet under achieved.

Under achieved yet unrivalled.

Take ya pick

[wiseone]

Updated:

In 18 AFCONS this is Nigeria's record:

*17 quarter-finals (i.e. they get to the QF nearly 95% of the time).
*15 times they have finished in the top 3 places (i.e top three 83% of the time).
*7 times they have been in the final.
*8 times they have finished third
*3 times winners.
*They have not failed to qualify for the quarter-finals for over 30 years.

[theYemster]

Looked at another way: Nigeria finish in the top three positions of AFCONs over 80% of the time. Does that mean Nigeria are remarkably consistent, or big chokers at the final hurdle?

Nope. We are consistent in reaching the quarters. It is passing that hump of the Semis that just eludes us every time. Lets see if these boys can step up their game on Sunday.

Those are not mutually exclusive positions. We could be fairly described as consistent chokers at the big stage.

Or it could just be we're almost always just about the third best team in the continent.

[wiseone]

If Nigeria beats Angola , Nigeria will be through to the semi-finals for the 15th time in its last 18 AFCONs. That is incredible.

[Babalawo]

Tbite has been a member of Cybereagles since 2013? Impressive!

[Gboye7777]

As fans of the SE, you should not be satisfied with semi-final appearances. A nation with as much wealth and footballing talents like Nigeria should have more than 2 ACN titles to her name. Suffice to say, Nigeria has been perennial under-achievers at the ACN.

True. We have 3 but I see your point.

[theDunamis]

As fans of the SE, you should not be satisfied with semi-final appearances. A nation with as much wealth and footballing talents like Nigeria should have more than 2 ACN titles to her name. Suffice to say, Nigeria has been perennial under-achievers at the ACN.

True. We have 3 but I see your point.

At the time he wrote that post, we had 2.

[Tbite]

Tbite has been a member of Cybereagles since 2013? Impressive!

I joined CE when I still a fresh teenager. I probably would have joined CE as a PRE-TEEN (yes you read that right) if I had access to good internet. Growing up as a kid, I was very inquisitive. My dad threw an old computer in front of me and left for South Africa where he worked. Didn't even tell me how to use it, and I started figuring it out. That was in the 90s. No internet connection really apart from the rare occasion my grandad plugged his in. So I literally couldn't have joined then.

Early 2000s I did browse the net a little bit on dial up, I am positive I did in fact find this website as a pre-teen...but I couldn't find the forum, the homepage of this website is not the best (no offense). But when I eventually got access to broadband in 2006 that was the gamechanger. Then I had endless amount of time to search every nook and cranny of the internet....and I eventually got past the homepage.

I wouldn't say I was that active in 2006 though. I was more active on Nairaland, I actually met Kofo on Nairaland. Nairaland became very annoying though as Seun became increasingly authoritarian. That was probably the main reason why I became active here, around 2007 or thereabouts.

[TonyTheTigerKiller]

Unfortunate episodes:
================

1988: Cheated. Legit goal denied against Cameroon and outcome may have been different. Possible champions!
1996: Pulled out. Sani Abacha. Defending champions & Africa's best at that time. Bulk won the Olympics later. Possible champions!
1998: Banned. Still Africa's top rated team. Strolled through France 98 qualifiers. Possible champions!
2000: Cheated. Another legit goal denied... during penalty shootout. Possible champions!

That is when I laugh when people say we overachieved. We have been more unlucky than lucky in African football.

And the fact that we only have 2 ANCs, is a fluke. If this was a game of probability and you replayed the ANCs again, without changing anything at all, I guarantee that we would have more than 2 ANCs.

It is nothing but a fluke that we have only 2 ANCs, but that will change if we reach the final, because even if we don't win, it will give us some momentum, on the back of having a rapidly growing team.

You must have been born in the 90s; too young to know that we won it in 1980. You don’t know everything like you think you do


Cheers.

[Tbite]

I don't claim that I know everything. Only a fool would think they do. The older I get the more apparent it becomes to me how meager my own knowledge is in the grand scheme of things.

They say you get wiser with age, but the paradox is the more you learn, the more.you realise how little you know. So old age actually diminishes your knowledge in a sense.

But as far as arguments on ce go, it is not that I think.i am right on ANY topic. I just argue a certain point until someone shows me facts to the contrary. Every single thing I have ever said on CE could be false. Fair enough. Doesn't bother me actually. But as long as people detail how and why.

[TonyTheTigerKiller]

I don't claim that I know everything. Only a fool would think they do. The older I get the more apparent it becomes to me how meager my own knowledge is in the grand scheme of things.

They say you get wiser with age, but the paradox is the more you learn, the more.you realise how little you know. So old age actually diminishes your knowledge in a sense.

But as far as arguments on ce go, it is not that I think.i am right on ANY topic. I just argue a certain point until someone shows me facts to the contrary. Every single thing I have ever said on CE could be false. Fair enough. Doesn't bother me actually. But as long as people detail how and why.

So, why not show a little humility and admit that you were wrong about the number of ANCs we won instead of lounging into this meaningless rhetoric? Ironically, the fact that I was just joking appears to have been lost on you; the smiley emoji ought to have given that fact away


Cheers.

[Tbite]

I don't claim that I know everything. Only a fool would think they do. The older I get the more apparent it becomes to me how meager my own knowledge is in the grand scheme of things.

They say you get wiser with age, but the paradox is the more you learn, the more.you realise how little you know. So old age actually diminishes your knowledge in a sense.

But as far as arguments on ce go, it is not that I think.i am right on ANY topic. I just argue a certain point until someone shows me facts to the contrary. Every single thing I have ever said on CE could be false. Fair enough. Doesn't bother me actually. But as long as people detail how and why.

So, why not show a little humility and admit that you were wrong about the number of ANCs we won instead of lounging into this meaningless rhetoric? Ironically, the fact that I was just joking appears to have been lost on you; the smiley emoji ought to have given that fact away


Cheers.

What do you mean? I was responding to the guy who said I was here since 2013. I don't know what I said or didn't say in this thread. I didn't know I was on trial here.

[Tbite]

but I am going through the thread from 10 years ago to try to see something that I am apparently supposed to be aware of and apologising for out of the blue.

[Tbite]

Unfortunate episodes:
================

1988: Cheated. Legit goal denied against Cameroon and outcome may have been different. Possible champions!
1996: Pulled out. Sani Abacha. Defending champions & Africa's best at that time. Bulk won the Olympics later. Possible champions!
1998: Banned. Still Africa's top rated team. Strolled through France 98 qualifiers. Possible champions!
2000: Cheated. Another legit goal denied... during penalty shootout. Possible champions!

That is when I laugh when people say we overachieved. We have been more unlucky than lucky in African football.

And the fact that we only have 2 ANCs, is a fluke. If this was a game of probability and you replayed the ANCs again, without changing anything at all, I guarantee that we would have more than 2 ANCs.

It is nothing but a fluke that we have only 2 ANCs, but that will change if we reach the final, because even if we don't win, it will give us some momentum, on the back of having a rapidly growing team.

Oh so I am looking at the Original Post from the 4th of February 2013

What did I say specifically in the post (which I am sure Admin can confirm was not hacked/edited).

I said we have only 2 ANCs. Why did I say that? Because up until 10 February 2013 we did in fact have only 2 ANCs.

1980 and 1994. 10 years is a long time ago, so some might question whether I am pivoting or my frame of mind or whatever, but what is clear is that I am not a prophet nor a time traveller. To dispute my claim here would actually be to affirm that I have some sort of supernatural ability. Which to be honest, I would gladly trade for a mere humble pie.

What does it matter to me if I did not know that we won the ANC in 1980, if I NOW have the glorious ability to predict the future. Have the past, I own the future.

I have almost 30,000 posts though, so I am sure you can find a better case of me saying something stupid, if you're stuck, let me know I will happily find one for you. Where did this notion that I am arrogant come from. I just like debating. At least 15% of my posts are nonsense (I admit I am being conservative), but as bargaining goes, you don't start with your best offer.

[TonyTheTigerKiller]

but I am going through the thread from 10 years ago to try to see something that I am apparently supposed to be aware of and apologising for out of the blue.

Oh my goodness, you don’t remember something you posted barely an hour ago? Review the post on this thread that you wrote at 11:41am, as well as my response at 12:09 pm. Just scroll 2 posts up


Cheers.

[anointed]

(apart from Egypt)

In their last 16 AFCON appearances, Nigeria have reached the semi-finals 13 times. They have not failed to qualify for the quarter-final for over 20 years.

Astonishing.

I'd swap Egypt's record with ours over the same period.

[Damunk]

Tbite was once upon a time the youngest CE member. The baby of the forum.
We watched him grow, like we have watched Osimhen.

I believe there are now a few younger forum members that have since joined us.

[nzeogwu]

We are no chokers. Making it to the final four means you are big time. Are we now saying that Egypt, Senegal, Maroc, Ghana, Cameroun, CIV and Algeria are bigger chokers for not even getting to the QF every tournament?

Are we always better than them? No.

And one more things, if this present Eagles played in 1994, they would win outright.

The spine is slightly better.

1994 spine: Rufai, Okechukwu, Oliseh, Yekini, Amokachi

Current spine: Nwabali, Ekong, Bassey, Onyeka, Osimhen, Lookman

[omk]

I thought we've got three titles?
... 1980, 1994 and 2013.

As fans of the SE, you should not be satisfied with semi-final appearances. A nation with as much wealth and footballing talents like Nigeria should have more than 2 ACN titles to her name. Suffice to say, Nigeria has been perennial under-achievers at the ACN.

[wiseone]

Heliopolis wrote that on February 3, 2013. That was 10 years ago. On that date Nigeria had only 2 AFCON wins.

I thought we've got three titles?
... 1980, 1994 and 2013.

As fans of the SE, you should not be satisfied with semi-final appearances. A nation with as much wealth and footballing talents like Nigeria should have more than 2 ACN titles to her name. Suffice to say, Nigeria has been perennial under-achievers at the ACN.

[wiseone]

…16 AFCON semi-finals in Nigeria’s last 20 AFCONs.