See how players played with barefoot during Nigeria's first ever football match which ended 5-2 (video)
- Nigeria played their first official football match against a Marine team and they did not wear boots for the match
- The Nigeria Football Association Team fondly called then won the match by 5-2 in front of 6,000 spectators watching
- The Super Eagles are ranked 35th in the world by FIFA and fifth in the African continent
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Nigeria is regarded as a haven of talents when it comes to the game of football and over the years, the West African nation have put their name on the map in world football.
According to records on Wikipedia, Nigeria played their first official football match in 1949 against Sierra Leone.
However, the former Green Eagles' first match was against a Marine-selected team that took place in the United Kingdom.
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The game was actually played in a packed crowd of 6,000 spectators gathered in a park to watch the African team trade tackle with their counterparts.
The Nigerian team did not wear boots as they played with their bare-feet wrapped round with bandage and wore their traditional green and white colours.
Despite not being protected with boots, the team known as the Nigeria Football Association Team played enterprsing football that thrilled the crowd.
Source: Getty Images
They played with much pace and skill as well as hitting the ball better than their opponents and making hard tackles.
The match ended 5-2 in favour of the Nigerian side and the team has gone on to become one of the most formidable teams in the world.
The Super Eagles are currently ranked 35th in the world and the fifth-best team in African behind the likes of Algeria, Senegal and Tunisia.
Many years on, Nigeria have produced players that have competed at the highest level of the game including Austin Okocha, Finidi George, Kanu Nwankwo, Mikel Obi, Alex Iwobi and the likes.
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Meanwhile, Legit.ng had earlier reported that Nigeria's Super Eagles have slipped to 35th position on the latest FIFA rankings following their unproductive AFCON 2022 qualifiers.
The three-time African kings were forced to back-to-back draws by the Leone Stars of Sierra Leone earlier this month.
Their first meeting at the Samuel Ogbemudia ended 4-4 despite Gernot Rohr's taking a four-goal lead in the first 30 minutes of their fixture.
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Source: Legit.ng
