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
Shirt badge/Association crest
Nickname(s)Ménas
AssociationNigerien Football Federation
ConfederationCAF (Africa)
Sub-confederationWAFU (West Africa)
Head coachJean-Michel Cavalli
CaptainKassaly Daouda
Most capsKassaly Daouda (89)
Top scorerVictorien Adebayor (19)
Home stadiumStade Seyni Kountché
FIFA codeNIG
First colours
Second colours
FIFA ranking
Current 122 Decrease 1 (22 December 2022)[1]
Highest68 (November 1994)
Lowest196 (August 2002)
First international
 Chad 2–2 Niger 
(Abidjan, Ivory Coast; 25 December 1961)
Biggest win
 Niger 7–1 Mauritania 
(Niamey, Niger; 12 October 1990)
Biggest defeat
 Congo 10–0 Niger 
(Abidjan, Ivory Coast; 27 December 1961)
Africa Cup of Nations
Appearances2 (first in 2012)
Best resultGroup stage (2012, 2013)

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

History[edit]

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.[8]

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.[9]

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.[10][11] 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.[12]

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.[13]

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.[14] 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.[15][16]

Results and fixtures[edit]

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

  Win   Draw   Loss

2022[edit]

23 March Friendly Niger  1–1  Mozambique Nouakchott, Mauritania
  • Adebayor 64'
 Report
Stadium: Stade Cheikha Ould Boïdiya
Referee: Babacar Sarr (Mauritania)
26 March Friendly Libya  2–1  Niger Nouakchott, Mauritania
 Report
Stadium: Stade Cheikha Ould Boïdiya
Referee: Abdel Aziz Mohamed Bouh (Mauritania)
4 June 2023 AFCON qualification Niger  1–1  Tanzania Cotonou, Benin
17:00
Report
Stadium: Stade de l'Amitié
Referee: Komlanvi Aklassou (Togo)
8 June 2023 AFCON qualification Uganda  1–1  Niger Entebbe, Uganda
16:00 UTC+3
Report
Stadium: St. Mary's Stadium-Kitende
Referee: Tsegay Mogos Teklu (Eritrea)
23 September Friendly Egypt  3–0  Niger Alexandria, Egypt
 Stadium: Borg El Arab Stadium
2 November Friendly Algeria  2–0  Niger
20 November Friendly Gabon  3–1  Niger Antalya, Turkey
Stadium: Atilla Vehbi Konuk Tesisleri
Referee: Zorbay Küçük (Turkey)
21 December Friendly Ajaccio 2–0  Niger Ajaccio, France
15:00 UTC+1
Stadium: Stade François Coty

2023[edit]

6 January Friendly Senegal  0–0  Niger Tabarka, Tunisia
13:00 CET (UTC+1) Report Stadium: La Cigale Sport Complex
March 2023 AFCON qualification Tanzania  v  Niger
Report
March 2023 AFCON qualification Niger  v  Uganda
Report
September 2023 AFCON qualification Algeria  v  Niger Algeria
Report
September 2023 AFCON qualification Niger  v  Algeria
Report

Coaching history[edit]

Players[edit]

Current squad[edit]

The following players were called up for the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations qualification matches against Tanzania and Uganda on 4 and 8 June 2022.[18]

Caps and goals are correct as of 8 June 2022, after the match against Uganda.

No. Pos. Player Date of birth (age) Caps Goals Club
1GK Kassaly Daouda (1983-08-19) 19 August 1983 (age 39) 89 0 Nigeria Katsina United
1GK Naim Van Attenhoven (2003-01-31) 31 January 2003 (age 19) 7 0 Belgium Ninove
2DF Abdoulaye Katakoré (1993-03-26) 26 March 1993 (age 29) 40 0 Niger AS Douanes
2DF Ousmane Diabaté (1994-07-09) 9 July 1994 (age 28) 29 0 Iraq Al-Minaa
2DF Abdoul Razak Seyni (1990-01-01) 1 January 1990 (age 33) 19 1 Niger Nigelec
2DF Abdoul Aziz Ibrahim (1996-03-15) 15 March 1996 (age 26) 18 1 Niger AS Douanes
2DF Abdoulaye Karim Doudou (1998-09-25) 25 September 1998 (age 24) 6 0 Niger Dakkada
2DF Rahim Alhassane (2002-01-01) 1 January 2002 (age 21) 4 0 Spain Rayo Majadahonda
2DF Djibrilla Ibrahim Mossi (2002-03-02) 2 March 2002 (age 20) 4 0 Croatia Rijeka
3MF Youssouf Oumarou (1993-02-16) 16 February 1993 (age 29) 50 4 Tunisia US Monastir
3MF Mohamed Wonkoye (1994-05-19) 19 May 1994 (age 28) 41 5 Guinea Horoya
3MF Abdoul Madjid Moumouni (1994-05-10) 10 May 1994 (age 28) 21 0 Iraq Al-Shorta
3MF Amadou Sabo (2000-05-30) 30 May 2000 (age 22) 13 2 Tunisia Club Africain
3MF Abdoul Moumouni (2002-08-07) 7 August 2002 (age 20) 9 0 Moldova Sheriff Tiraspol
3MF Boubacar Goumey (2000-07-14) 14 July 2000 (age 22) 4 0 Niger Nigelec
3MF Hassane Adamou (2000-06-26) 26 June 2000 (age 22) 3 0 Spain Burgos Promesas
3MF Moussa Kassa Moudou (1999-11-11) 11 November 1999 (age 23) 0 0 Niger US GN
3MF Moustapha Sabo (2004-09-14) 14 September 2004 (age 18) 0 0 Niger AS SONIDEP
4FW Amadou Moutari (1994-01-19) 19 January 1994 (age 29) 48 2 Saudi Arabia Al-Qadsiah
4FW Victorien Adebayor (1996-11-12) 12 November 1996 (age 26) 46 17 Morocco RS Berkane
4FW Mahamane Cissé (1993-12-27) 27 December 1993 (age 29) 36 5 Republic of the Congo AS Otôho
4FW Issa Djibrilla (1996-01-01) 1 January 1996 (age 27) 18 4 Azerbaijan Zira
4FW Daniel Sosah (1998-09-21) 21 September 1998 (age 24) 9 3 Belarus Isloch
4FW Ibrahim Marou (2000-01-01) 1 January 2000 (age 23) 5 0 Niger AS FAN
4FW Salam Boulhassan (2001-01-18) 18 January 2001 (age 22) 2 0 Niger Nigelec

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 Issaka (1990-02-12) 12 February 1990 (age 32) 0 0 Niger AS FAN vs.  Djibouti, 15 November 2021
GK Abdoul Boubacar (1999-09-07) 7 September 1999 (age 23) 0 0 Niger AS FAN vs.  Algeria, 12 October 2021
DF Abdoul Garba (1991-12-23) 23 December 1991 (age 31) 26 0 Niger AS Douanes vs.  Djibouti, 15 November 2021
DF Yacouba Diori (1997-09-08) 8 September 1997 (age 25) 10 0 Spain CD Castellón vs.  Djibouti, 15 November 2021
DF Abdoul Aziz Hourba (1995-01-01) 1 January 1995 (age 28) 1 0 Niger AS Douanes vs.  Djibouti, 15 November 2021
DF Farouk Idrissa (2000-02-12) 12 February 2000 (age 22) 0 0 Niger US GN vs.  Djibouti, 15 November 2021
DF Boubacar Hama (2002-05-17) 17 May 2002 (age 20) 0 0 Niger AS SONIDEP vs.  Djibouti, 15 November 2021
DF Salifou Massoudi (2004-07-11) 11 July 2004 (age 18) 0 0 Niger AS FAN vs.  Djibouti, 15 November 2021
DF Abdoulaye Boureima Katakoré (1993-03-26) 26 March 1993 (age 29) 34 0 Niger AS FAN vs.  Algeria, 12 October 2021
DF Hervé Lybohy (1983-07-24) 24 July 1983 (age 39) 10 0 France Thonon Evian vs.  Algeria, 12 October 2021
DF Zakariya Souleymane (1994-12-29) 29 December 1994 (age 28) 2 0 France Lyon Duchère vs.  Algeria, 12 October 2021
MF Ousseini Badamassi (1997-04-21) 21 April 1997 (age 25) 5 0 Niger AS GNN vs.  Libya, 26 March 2022
MF Ali Mohamed (1995-10-07) 7 October 1995 (age 27) 39 0 Israel Maccabi Haifa vs.  Djibouti, 15 November 2021
MF Yussif Moussa (1998-09-04) 4 September 1998 (age 24) 15 1 Finland Ilves vs.  Djibouti, 15 November 2021
MF Abdoul Kader Djibo (1991-07-11) 11 July 1991 (age 31) 2 0 Niger AS Douanes vs.  Djibouti, 15 November 2021
FW Seybou Koita (1994-04-15) 15 April 1994 (age 28) 7 0 France Andrézieux-Bouthéon vs.  Libya, 26 March 2022
FW Fabrice Yao (1995-12-29) 29 December 1995 (age 27) 4 0 Luxembourg US Mondorf-les-Bains vs.  Libya, 26 March 2022
FW Zakari Junior Lambo (1999-01-19) 19 January 1999 (age 24) 9 1 Belgium Royal Knokke vs.  Djibouti, 15 November 2021

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 20 November 2022[19]
Players in bold are still active with Niger.

Competitive record[edit]

FIFA World Cup record[edit]

FIFA World Cup FIFA World Cup qualification
Year Round Position Pld W D* L GF GA Pld W D L GF GA
Uruguay 1930 Part of  France Part of  France
Italy 1934
France 1938
Brazil 1950
Switzerland 1954
Sweden 1958
Chile 1962 Did not enter Did not enter
England 1966
Mexico 1970
West Germany 1974
Argentina 1978 Did not qualify 2 1 0 1 3 6
Spain 1982 6 2 2 2 4 7
Mexico 1986 Withdrew Withdrew
Italy 1990 Did not enter Did not enter
United States 1994 Did not qualify 4 2 1 1 3 2
France 1998 Withdrew Withdrew
South Korea Japan 2002 Did not enter Did not enter
Germany 2006 Did not qualify 2 0 0 2 0 7
South Africa 2010 6 1 0 5 5 11
Brazil 2014 6 1 1 4 6 12
Russia 2018 4 2 1 1 6 3
Qatar 2022 6 2 1 3 13 17
Canada Mexico United States 2026 To be determined To be determined
Total 0/22 36 11 6 19 40 65

Africa Cup of Nations record[edit]

Main article: Niger at the Africa Cup of Nations
Africa Cup of Nations record
Year Round Position Pld W D L GF GA
Sudan 1957 Part of  France
Egypt 1959
Ethiopia 1962 Not affiliated to CAF
Ghana 1963
Tunisia 1965
Ethiopia 1968 Did not enter
Sudan 1970 Did not qualify
Cameroon 1972
Egypt 1974 Withdrew
Ethiopia 1976 Did not qualify
Ghana 1978 Withdrew
Nigeria 1980
Libya 1982 Did not enter
Ivory Coast 1984 Did not qualify
Egypt 1986 Did not enter
Morocco 1988
Algeria 1990
Senegal 1992 Did not qualify
Tunisia 1994
South Africa 1996 Withdrew during qualifying
Burkina Faso 1998 Disqualified for withdrawing in 1996
Ghana Nigeria 2000 to
Angola 2010 		Did not qualify
Gabon Equatorial Guinea 2012 Group stage 15th 3 0 0 3 1 5
South Africa 2013 15th 3 0 1 2 0 4
Equatorial Guinea 2015 Did not qualify
Gabon 2017
Egypt 2019
Cameroon 2021
Ivory Coast 2023 To be determined
Guinea 2025
Total Group stage 2/33 6 0 1 5 1 9
Niger national team against Morocco, 9 February 2011

African Nations Championship record[edit]

African Nations Championship
Appearances: 3
Year Round Position Pld W D* L GF GA
Ivory Coast 2009 Did not qualify
Sudan 2011 Quarter-finals 7th 4 2 1 1 3 3
South Africa 2014 Did not qualify
Rwanda 2016 Group stage 16th 3 0 1 2 3 11
Morocco 2018 Did not qualify
Cameroon 2020 Group stage 12th 3 0 2 1 2 3
Algeria 2022 Qualified
Total Quarter-finals 3/6 10 2 4 4 8 17

Head-to-head record[edit]

As of 19 November 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 2 0 1 1 3 5 −2
 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 13 0 2 11 9 29 −20
 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
 Madagascar 1 0 0 1 2 6 −4
 Mali 8 1 2 5 4 10 −6
 Mauritania 5 3 2 0 10 3 +7
 Morocco 7 1 0 6 2 16 −14
 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
38 Countries 174 37 38 99 156 320 −164

References[edit]

  1. ^ "The FIFA/Coca-Cola World Ranking". FIFA. 22 December 2022. Retrieved 22 December 2022.
  2. ^ Elo rankings change compared to one year ago. "World Football Elo Ratings". eloratings.net. 18 December 2022. Retrieved 18 December 2022.
  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. ^ "CAN 2019 : la liste du Niger contre l'Egypte sans Maazou". Afrik-Foot. March 21, 2019.
  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. ^ CHAN 2011 : Un Niger héroïque mais éliminé par le Soudan – Football/CHAN 2011 – RFI 2011-02-19
  10. ^ "Niger in historic qualification despite Cairo loss". BBC Sport. British Broadcasting Corporation. 2011-10-08. Retrieved 2011-10-08.
  11. ^ 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.
  12. ^ "Niger 0-1 Morocco". BBC Sport.
  13. ^ "2013 Africa Cup of Nations Qualifiers - Qualifier Rounds - MTNFootball". Archived from the original on 2012-10-09. Retrieved 2012-10-16.
  14. ^ "Ghana cruises into African Cup quarters". GhanaWeb. January 28, 2013.
  15. ^ "Страница не найдена". shakhtar.com.
  16. ^ "Ukraine-Niger | European Qualifiers".
  17. ^ "Martial named Niger coach". BBC News. 26 November 2002.
  18. ^ "MENA | LA LISTE". Twitter. @fenifoot.
  19. ^ "Niger". National Football Teams.

External links[edit]

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