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Nigeria's Super Falcons are yet to miss a FIFA World Cup tournament since its 1991 inception, but their good name has also been soiled by a number of unwanted records in the competition.
The Super Falcons of Nigeria have been Africa’s shining light at the FIFA Women’s World Cup and are the only team from the continent to have appeared at every edition of the tournament since 1991.
However, their continued presence at the World Cup has come with a few drawbacks, as Africa struggled to catch up to other continents in the women’s game, leading to some poor outings from the Super Falcons.
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Despite being perennial African champions, Nigeria has struggled to replicate continental form on the world stage, and have been left with these five records that will certainly serve as a source of embarrassment.
Most losses at the FIFA Women’s World Cup
With 19 losses to date at the FIFA Women’s World Cup, Nigeria stands alone as the country with the most defeats in the competition’s history.
The Super Falcons have recorded only four wins from 26 matches at the World Cup since 1991 and will be hoping that the 2023 Edition in Canada is kinder to them than previous tournaments.
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The team’s least favourite opponent is the USA, who have gotten the better of Nigeria on all four occasions the sides have met, with Germany a close second with three defeats from three meetings.
Most goals conceded at the FIFA Women’s World Cup
Thanks to an unfortunate number of wallopings that the Super Falcons have received, they also hold the infamous record for conceding the most goals in the history of the FIFA Women’s World Cup.
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Thanks to unforgettable results like the 8-0 demolition by Norway in 1995, the 7-1 thrashing at the hands of the USA in 1999, and the 5-0 humbling by the USA (again) in 2003, the Super Falcons have shipped a total of 63 goals in eight World Cup tournaments, the most of any side in the tournament’s history.
Worst goal difference at the FIFA Women’s World Cup
Unlike in continental fixtures, the Super Falcons have not been prolific goalscorers on the global stage, scoring only 20 times at the FIFA World Cup in total, which is only one goal more than they managed at the 2010 Women’s AFCON in South Africa.
Their humble goalscoring record at the World Cup, paired with their abysmal defensive record leaves the Super Falcons with another unwanted record as they find themselves also being the team with the worst summative goal difference in World Cup history with -43 goals.
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The team closest to Nigeria in terms of their poor goal difference is, interestingly, Argentina, who have a goal difference of -32 currently despite playing in only three editions of the World Cup compared to Nigeria’s eight.
Most tournaments without scoring a goal
The Super Falcons’ goalscoring record at the World Cup is relatively poor, but just how poor? This next record speaks volumes.
Of the five countries that have gone an entire World Cup tournament without scoring a goal. Nigeria remains the only country to have done so more than once.
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Their goalless endeavours in 1995 and 2003 set the Super Falcons apart from the other teams in the most unwanted fashion, and fans of Nigerian football can only pray that the 2023 FIFA World Cup does not become another scoreless outing.
In total, Nigeria has failed to score in 16 of their previous 26 games and have also recorded only one goal at two other editions of the World Cup.
Lowest attendance at a FIFA Women’s World Cup match
While the Super Falcons could hardly be faulted for this record, it is still one associated with the Nigerian Women’s national team.
In the summer of 1995, in the least attended World Cup to date, a group stage match between Nigeria and Canada saw only 250 (yes, two hundred and fifty) spectators turn up to the 17,000 capacity Olympiastadion in Helsingborg to watch the Super Falcons and their Canadian counterparts.
This stands as the match with the fewest spectators in Women’s World Cup history.
However, the entire tournament, not just the Super Falcons, suffered from crowd apathy, with the most watched match of the tournament between hosts Norway and Germany attracting only 17,158 spectators.
In comparison, Nigeria’s match against Sweden in 2007 in China’s Chengdu Sports Centre Stadium pulled a crowd of 21,740 people and was the tournament’s least watched fixture.
With the Super Falcons set for another sojourn at the World Cup, fans will hope that they can avoid worsening these records or setting new unwanted records.
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