The 1994 FIFA World Cup was a tournament that saw the participation of Nigeria Super Eagles for the very first time in their football history having qualified from the African Zonal qualifiers. The team was led to the tournament by Dutch coach- Clemence Westerhof who had earlier led the Super Eagles to lifting the African Nations Cup in Tunisia that same year.
Expectation from football loving Nigerians was on the rise as the tournament drew near, and Nigeria did not disappoint when the tournament eventually kicked-off. Below is a profile of all the Nigerian goal scorers in the tournament.
- Rashidi Yekini
He scored the very first goal in the 3-0 bashing of Bulgaria in Nigeria first ever World Cup appearance. It was a classical goal from a vintage Yekini who was then playing his club football with Portuguese top club- Victoria Setubal.
- Daniel Amokachi
Daniel» The Bull» Amokachi became a house hold name in Nigeria after the 1994 World Cup after he scored a wonder goal in Nigeria opening game against Bulgaria in the 43rd minutes of the first half. He collected a stray ball in the midfield and outwitted three Bulgarian defenders before slamming a right foot shot into the back of the Bulgarian net.
- Emmanuel Amuneke
Emmanuel Amuneke continued his goal scoring form from where he stopped in Tunisia. He was the hero of the 1994 Nations Cup triumph where he scored two brilliant goals to earn Nigeria a second Nations Cup trophy. In Nigeria first World Cup encounter with Bulgaria, he scored the decisive 3rd goal via a brilliant header in the 55th minutes of the second half. The Bulgarian goalkeeper-Borislav Mikhailov could only watch helplessly as the ball rested at the back of the net.
- Samson Siasia
In Nigeria second World Cup match with former World Champions-Argentina, the Super Eagles took a surprise lead via striker- Samson Siasia who wasted no time in the 18-yard box of the Argentine to register his name on the scorers sheet in the 8th minutes of the first half. Nigeria however lost the match 2-1.
- Finidi George
Finidi George who played in the right-wing position for Nigeria throughout the duration of the 1994 World Cup was in sparkling form in Nigeria last group match with Greece, as he scored a superb goal in the 45th minutes of the first half.
- Daniel Amokachi
The Bull struck his second goal in the 2-0 hammering of Greece in Nigeria last group match. He scored in the 90th minutes of the second half to put the game beyond the Greek side.
- Emmanuel Amuneke
Emmanuel Amuneke scored his second goal of the tournament against tournament favorite- Italy, in the round of 16 fixture with the Italians. He scored in the 25th minutes of the first half, but his goal was not enough to see Nigeria through to the next round, as they got beaten 2-1.