Niger national football team
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| Nickname(s) | Mena | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Association | Niger Football Federation | ||
| Sub-confederation | WAFU (West Africa) | ||
| Confederation | CAF (Africa) | ||
| Head coach | Rolland Courbis | ||
| Home stadium | Stade Général Seyni Kountché | ||
| FIFA code | NIG | ||
| FIFA ranking | 98 | ||
| Highest FIFA ranking | 68 (November 1994) | ||
| Lowest FIFA ranking | 196 (August 2002) | ||
| Elo ranking | 117 | ||
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| First international | |||
 Nigeria 1–0 Niger  (Senegal; 11 April 1963) |
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| Biggest win | |||
Niger 7–1 Mauritania  (Niamey, Niger; 12 October 1990) |
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| Biggest defeat | |||
Niger 1–9 Ghana  (Niger; 21 September 1969) |
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| Africa Cup of Nations | |||
| Appearances | 1 (First in 2012) | ||
| Best result | Group Stage, 2012 | ||
The Niger national football team, nicknamed the Menas,[1][2] is overseen by the Fédération Nigerienne de Football and a member of 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[3] The Dama appears on their badge in the colors of of the national flag.
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[edit] History
Although one of the weaker 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 World Cup qualifiers, in which Niger eliminated Somalia and Togo on away goals, 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 one record – they trashed Mauritania 7–1 in continental qualifiers, which is for now the highest win for Mena.
In the 2004 African Nations Cup qualifiers, Niger won all their home games (including a win over Guinea) to finish on 9 points, just 3 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 Niger FA would have turned to fundraising to pay for their trip to the 2010 African Cup of Nations in Angola, had they qualified.[4]
In June 2008, Romanian coach Dan Anghelescu[5] took over as team manager from Hamey Amadou, who was dismissed. Anghelescu had been coaching in Africa since 1999, training teams from Algeria, Tunisia and Burkina Faso. On 19 December 2008, Anghelescu was dismissed after a disastrous six-month spell. Former Niger U-17 coach Frederic Costa was appointed the new head coach of the Niger national side. Harouna Doula Gabde, a former Nigerien international, succeeded him in 2009.[6]
Despite a failed run for ACON2010, 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.[7]
On 10 October 2010, Niger earned a shock 1–0 win over Egypt at home in the 2012 African Cup of Nations qualification.
After home wins -- but away losses -- 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.[8][9]
[edit] Competition recrds
[edit] World Cup record
- 1930 to 1974 – Did not enter
- 1978 to 1982 – Did not qualify
- 1986 – Withdrew
- 1990 – Did not enter
- 1994 – Did not qualify
- 1998 – Withdrew
- 2002 – Did not enter
- 2006 to 2010 – Did not qualify
[edit] Africa Cup of Nations record
- 1957 to 1968 – Did not enter
- 1970 to 1972 – Did not qualify
- 1974 – Withdrew
- 1976 – Did not qualify
- 1978 to 1980 – Withdrew
- 1982 – Did not enter
- 1984 – Did not qualify
- 1986 to 1990 – Did not enter
- 1992 to 1994 – Did not qualify
- 1996 – Withdrew during qualifying
- 1998 – Disqualified for withdrawing in 1996
- 2000 to 2010 – Did not qualify
- 2012 – Round 1
[edit] Head-to-Head Records against other countries
As of March 28, 2011
| Opponent | Games | Wins | Draws | Losses | Goals For | Goals Against | Goal Differential |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Algeria |
4 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 11 | −10 |
 Angola |
2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 5 | −3 |
 Benin |
13 | 3 | 4 | 6 | 16 | 20 | −4 |
 Botswana |
2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | +2 |
 Burkina Faso |
11 | 2 | 5 | 4 | 12 | 16 | −4 |
 Cameroon |
3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 4 | −4 |
 Chad |
1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
 Congo |
2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 7 | −6 |
 Côte d'Ivoire |
12 | 0 | 2 | 10 | 9 | 28 | −19 |
 Egypt |
2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 3 | -2 |
 Equatorial Guinea |
1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
 Ethiopia |
2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 0 |
 Gabon |
2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 6 | −5 |
 Gambia |
1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Ghana |
10 | 0 | 1 | 9 | 4 | 35 | −31 |
 Guinea |
5 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 6 | 10 | −4 |
 Lesotho |
2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 0 |
 Liberia |
5 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 7 | −4 |
 Libya* |
3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 7 | −4 |
 Mali |
7 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 9 | −5 |
| Mauritania |
4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 9 | 2 | +7 |
 Morocco |
5 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 2 | 14 | −12 |
 Namibia |
1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | +1 |
| Nigeria |
3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 7 | −6 |
 Senegal |
5 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 6 | −3 |
 Sierra Leone |
5 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 11 | 14 | −3 |
 Somalia |
2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
 South Africa |
1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | −2 |
 Togo |
8 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 10 | 11 | −1 |
 Uganda |
4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 5 | −1 |
| 30 Countries | 127 | 29 | 26 | 70 | 113 | 238 | −125 |
- Match versus Libya in November 2010 finished 1–1, but Niger lost 4–1 in penalty shootout, thus that counts as a defeat (penalties not counted)
[edit] Recent results and forthcoming fixtures
[edit] Current squad
The following players were called up for the 2012 Africa Cup of Nations:
[edit] References
- ^ Orange 2012 Afcon qualifiers :130 Million FCFA for the Menas. 22/05/2011 StarAfrica sports.
- ^ Menas to test Pharaohs form. Confederation of African Football. 10-09-2010
- ^ Dama Gazelle Nanger dama. Sahara Conservation Fund, 2007, 2011.
- ^ "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.". http://www.helpmena.com/index.html.
- ^ "Announcement about Dan Anghelescu becoming the manager of Niger". http://www.brazzaville-adiac.com/index.php?action=depeche&dep_id=22611&cat_id=6&oldaction=home®pay_id=0. (French)
- ^ FACTBOX-Soccer-Factbox on African Nations Cup finalists Niger. 2012-01-18, Reuters.
- ^ CHAN 2011 : Un Niger héroïque mais éliminé par le Soudan - Football/CHAN 2011 - RFI 2011-02-19
- ^ "Niger in historic qualification despite Cairo loss". BBC Sport (British Broadcasting Corporation). 2011-10-08. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/15229854.stm. Retrieved 2011-10-08.
- ^ Fixtures, results and tables for the qualifiers for the 2012 Africa Cup of Nations to be co-hosted by Gabon and Equatorial Guinea. BBC Sport.
[edit] External links
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