Niger national football team

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This article is about the men's team. For the women's team, see Niger women's national football team.
Niger
Nickname(s)Ménas
AssociationNigerien Football Federation
ConfederationCAF (Africa)
Sub-confederationWAFU (West Africa)
Head coachFrançois Zahoui
CaptainSouleymane Sacko
Most capsKassaly Daouda (69)
Top scorerMoussa Maâzou (12)
Home stadiumStade Seyni Kountché
FIFA codeNIG
First colours
Second colours
FIFA ranking
Current 104 Steady (14 June 2019)[1]
Highest68 (November 1994)
Lowest196 (August 2002)
Elo ranking
Current 133 Decrease 2 (7 June 2019)[2]
Highest103 (July 1991)
Lowest146 (December 1980)
First international
 Niger 2–2 Chad 
(Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire; 25 December 1961)
Biggest win
 Niger 7–1 Mauritania 
(Niamey, Niger; 12 October 1990)
Biggest defeat
 Congo 10–0 Niger Niger
(Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire; 27 December 1961)
Africa Cup of Nations
Appearances2 (first in 2012)
Best resultGroup stage, 2012 and 2013

The Niger national football team[3][4] represents Niger in international association 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[5] The Dama appears on their badge in the colors of the national flag. [6][7]

History[edit]

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 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.[8]

In June 2008, Romanian coach Dan Anghelescu[9] 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 them in 2009.[10]

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 ACON 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.[11]

After home wins—as well as 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, despite losing 3–0 in Egypt.[12][13] 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.[14]

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.[15]

In their first match at the 2013 Africa Cup of Nations, Niger lost to Mali (1–0) 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.[16] 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.[17][18]

Competitive record[edit]

World Cup record[edit]

Head-to-head record against other nations[edit]

As of 23 March 2019
Opponent Games Wins Draws Losses Goals For Goals Against Goal Differential
 Algeria 5 1 0 4 1 14 −13
 Angola 2 0 0 2 2 5 −3
 Benin 15 3 5 7 17 24 −7
 Botswana 3 2 1 0 4 2 +2
 Burundi 1 1 0 0 3 1 +2
 Burkina Faso* 15 3 5 7 13 22 −9
 Cameroon 3 0 1 2 0 4 −4
 Central African Republic 1 0 1 0 3 3 0
 Chad 1 0 1 0 1 1 0
 Congo 4 0 1 3 3 10 −7
 DR Congo 1 0 1 0 0 0 0
 Ivory Coast 12 0 2 10 9 28 −19
 Egypt 6 1 1 4 2 16 −14
 Equatorial Guinea 1 0 1 0 1 1 0
 Ethiopia 3 1 0 2 3 4 −1
 Eswatini 2 1 1 0 2 1 +1
 Gabon 6 1 0 5 5 13 −8
 Gambia 1 0 1 0 1 1 0
 Ghana 11 0 1 10 4 38 −34
 Guinea 7 3 0 4 8 11 −3
 Lesotho 2 1 0 1 3 3 0
 Liberia 7 3 1 3 7 10 −3
 Libya* 4 0 3 1 4 8 −4
 Mali 8 1 2 5 4 10 −6
 Mauritania 5 3 2 0 10 3 +7
 Morocco 6 1 0 5 2 15 −13
 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 6 3 0 3 11 15 −4
 Somalia 2 0 2 0 1 1 0
 South Africa 2 1 0 1 2 3 −1
 Togo 9 3 3 3 13 14 −1
 Tunisia 3 0 0 3 2 4 −2
 Uganda 5 2 1 2 6 6 0
 Ukraine 1 0 0 1 1 2 −1
 United Arab Emirates 1 0 0 1 0 4 −4
37 Countries 170 37 38 95 154 310 −156
  • Niger beat Burkina Faso 1–0 in a match played on 27 July 2013, but because of losing the first match 1–0, this match went to extra time and then the penalties. Niger lost 6–5 on penalties, but under the FIFA rules, this match counts as a win.
  • Match versus Libya in November 2010 finished 1–1, after which Niger lost 4–1 in penalty shootout. Under the rules of association football and the official European Championship tournament regulations, a loss inflicted via a penalty shootout does not count as a defeat, but rather a tie which needed a final process to determine the team which advances.

Results and fixtures[edit]

  Win   Draw   Loss

2018[edit]

2019[edit]

Players[edit]

Current squad[edit]

The following players have been selected for the AFCON qualifier match against Egypt on 23 March 2019.[19]

Caps and goals updated as of 23 March 2019 after the game against Egypt.[20]

No. Pos. Player Date of birth (age) Caps Goals Club
1 1GK Moussa Alzouma (1982-09-30) 30 September 1982 (age 36) 7 0 Niger GNN
16 1GK Daouda Kassaly (1983-08-19) 19 August 1983 (age 35) 70 0 Niger Nigelec
21 1GK Mainassara Babari (1993-09-22) 22 September 1993 (age 25) 0 0 Niger SONIDEP
2 2DF Abdoul Hourba (1995-01-01) 1 January 1995 (age 24) 0 0 Niger SONIDEP
3 2DF Ismaël Inoussa (1994-05-09) 9 May 1994 (age 25) 10 0 Niger AS Douanes
4 2DF Mahamadou Souley (1995-02-18) 18 February 1995 (age 24) 14 0 Niger GNN
5 2DF Abdoul Garba (1991-12-23) 23 December 1991 (age 27) 7 0 Niger AS Douanes
15 2DF Boureima Katakoré (1993-03-26) 26 March 1993 (age 26) 27 0 Egypt Al-Safa
19 2DF Abdoul Razak Seyni (1990-01-01) 1 January 1990 (age 29) 3 0 Niger SONIDEP
2DF Koffi Dan Kowa (1989-09-19) 19 September 1989 (age 29) 64 3 Niger Sahel SC
2DF Abdoulmoumouni Adamou (1985-09-14) 14 September 1985 (age 33) 1 0 Free agent
2DF Moustapha Mohamed (1993-06-14) 14 June 1993 (age 26) 0 0 Niger GNN
6 3MF Souleymane Lawali (1996-10-03) 3 October 1996 (age 22) 1 0 Niger GNN
8 3MF Ibrahim Mansour (1994-01-01) 1 January 1994 (age 25) 2 0 Niger AS Police
11 3MF Djibo Wonkoye (1994-05-19) 19 May 1994 (age 25) 21 1 Guinea Horoya
12 3MF Souleymane Sacko (Captain) (1987-08-01) 1 August 1987 (age 31) 49 3 Niger GNN
14 3MF Ali Mohamed (1996-10-07) 7 October 1996 (age 22) 29 0 Israel Beitar Jerusalem
17 3MF Mahamane Cissé (1993-12-27) 27 December 1993 (age 25) 27 4 Greece Aiginiakos
20 3MF Amadou Moutari (1994-01-19) 19 January 1994 (age 25) 23 1 Hungary Mezőkövesdi
7 4FW Modibo Sidibé (1992-06-03) 3 June 1992 (age 27) 23 4 Morocco MC Oudja
10 4FW Victorien Adebayor (1996-11-12) 12 November 1996 (age 22) 22 7 Ghana Inter Allies
23 4FW Seybou Koita (1994-04-15) 15 April 1994 (age 25) 1 0 Israel Ashdod
4FW Kamilou Daouda (1987-12-29) 29 December 1987 (age 31) 35 10 Morocco MC Oudja
4FW Issoufou Hinsa (1991-09-14) 14 September 1991 (age 27) 3 0 Niger Sahel SC
4FW Ahmeye Zeidine (1994-06-09) 9 June 1994 (age 25) 1 0 Nigeria Rangers International
4FW Moussa Soumana (1989-03-02) 2 March 1989 (age 30) 0 0 Niger AS Douanes

Recent call-ups[edit]

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

Pos. Player Date of birth (age) Caps Goals Club Latest call-up
GK Oumarou Halidou (1992-04-04) 4 April 1992 (age 27) 0 0 Niger SONIDEP v.  Egypt, 8 September 2018
GK Losseny Doumbia (1992-04-05) 5 April 1992 (age 27) 2 0 Niger FAN v.  Uganda, 2 June 2018
DF Kourouma Fatoukouma (1984-07-11) 11 July 1984 (age 34) 32 1 Finland MuSa v.  Eswatini, 18 November 2018
DF Khaido Assadeh (1997-06-28) 28 June 1997 (age 21) 3 0 Niger AS Douanes v.  Eswatini, 18 November 2018
DF Lebné Daogo (1989-04-15) 15 April 1989 (age 30) 4 0 Niger FAN v.  Egypt, 8 September 2018
DF Abdoulaye Doudou (1998-09-25) 25 September 1998 (age 20) 2 0 Portugal Leixões v.  Uganda, 2 June 2018
MF Yussif Moussa (1998-09-04) 4 September 1998 (age 20) 3 0 Niger AS Police v.  Eswatini, 18 November 2018
MF Lawali Abdourahamane (1997-03-08) 8 March 1997 (age 22) 0 0 Niger JS Tahoua v.  Eswatini, 18 November 2018
MF Ousmane Diabaté (1994-07-09) 9 July 1994 (age 24) 4 0 Saudi Arabia Jeddah v.  Tunisia, October 2018
MF Boubacar Magid (1994-05-10) 10 May 1994 (age 25) 4 0 Sudan Al-Merrikh v.  Tunisia, October 2018
MF Abdoul Soumana (2000-05-22) 22 May 2000 (age 19) 0 0 Sudan Al-Merrikh v.  Tunisia, October 2018
FW Moussa Maâzou (1988-08-25) 25 August 1988 (age 30) 49 12 France Lens v.  Tunisia, October 2018
FW Youssouf Oumarou (1993-02-16) 16 February 1993 (age 26) 27 2 Niger FAN v.  Tunisia, October 2018
FW Boubacar Hainikoye (1989-10-07) 7 October 1989 (age 29) 5 1 Niger US GN v.  Tunisia, October 2018

DEC Player refused to join the team after the call-up.
INJ Player withdrew from the squad due to an injury.
PRE Preliminary squad.
RET Player has retired from international football.
SUS Suspended from the national team.

Records[edit]

As of 30 March 2019
Players in bold text are still active with Niger.

List of coaches[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "The FIFA/Coca-Cola World Ranking". FIFA. 14 June 2019. Retrieved 14 June 2019.
  2. ^ Elo rankings change compared to one year ago. "World Football Elo Ratings". eloratings.net. 7 June 2019. Retrieved 7 June 2019.
  3. ^ Orange 2012 Afcon qualifiers :130 Million FCFA for the Menas Archived 2011-11-09 at the Wayback Machine. 22/05/2011 StarAfrica sports.
  4. ^ Menas to test Pharaohs form. Confederation of African Football. 10-09-2010
  5. ^ Dama Gazelle Nanger dama. Sahara Conservation Fund, 2007, 2011.
  6. ^ http://www.afrik-foot.com/can-2019-la-liste-du-niger-contre-l-egypte-sans-maazou
  7. ^ "Niger team of 2019". national-football-teams.com. National Football Teams.
  8. ^ "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.
  9. ^ "Announcement about Dan Anghelescu becoming the manager of Niger". Archived from the original on 2011-07-08. (French)
  10. ^ FACTBOX-Soccer-Factbox on African Nations Cup finalists Niger. 2012-01-18, Reuters.
  11. ^ CHAN 2011 : Un Niger héroïque mais éliminé par le Soudan – Football/CHAN 2011 – RFI 2011-02-19
  12. ^ "Niger in historic qualification despite Cairo loss". BBC Sport. British Broadcasting Corporation. 2011-10-08. Retrieved 2011-10-08.
  13. ^ 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.
  14. ^ https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/16803984
  15. ^ http://www.mtnfootball.com/africa/african-tournaments/2013-afcon-qualifiers/
  16. ^ http://www.ghanaweb.com/GhanaHomePage/NewsArchive/artikel.php?ID=263428
  17. ^ http://shakhtar.com/en/news/31806
  18. ^ http://www.uefa.com/friendlies/season=2014/matches/round=2000374/match=2014301/index.html
  19. ^ http://www.afrik-foot.com/can-2019-la-liste-du-niger-contre-l-egypte-sans-maazou
  20. ^ "Niger team of 2019". national-football-teams.com. National Football Teams.
  21. ^ "Martial named Niger coach". BBC News. 26 November 2002.

External links[edit]

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