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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
AssociationFédération Nigerienne de Football (FENIFOOT)
ConfederationCAF (Africa)
Sub-confederationWAFU (West Africa)
Head coachEzzaki Badou
CaptainAbdoulaye Katkoré
Most capsKassaly Daouda (89)
Top scorerVictorien Adebayor (20)
Home stadiumStade Général Seyni Kountché
FIFA codeNIG
First colours
Second colours
FIFA ranking
Current 131 Decrease 4 (24 October 2024)[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)
African Nations Championship
Appearances4 (first in 2011)
Best resultFourth place (2022)

The Niger national football team (French: Equipe de football du Niger) [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

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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

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

The following is a list of match results in the last 12 months, as well as any future matches that have been scheduled.

  Win   Draw   Loss   Fixture

2024

[edit]
8 January Friendly Senegal  1–0  Niger Diamniadio, Senegal
18:00 UTC±0
  • F. Mendy 90+9'
 Report Stadium: Diamniadio Olympic Stadium
22 March Friendly Niger  1–2  Togo Mohammedia, Morocco
22:00 UTC±0 Sosah 55' Report Dermane 60, 65' Stadium: El Bachir Stadium
26 March Friendly Niger  1–1  Burkina Faso Berrechid, Morocco
22:00 UTC±0 Sosah 53' Report Djiga 30' Stadium: Berrechid Municipal Stadium
June 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification Congo  0–3
Awarded[a]		  Niger
June 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification Eritrea  Cancelled  Niger
Note: Eritrea withdrew from the qualifiers before the first matches were played.

Coaching history

[edit]

Players

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Current squad

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The following players were called up for the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification match against Congo on 6 June 2024.[19]

Caps and goals are correct as of 26 March 2024, after the match against  Burkina Faso.

No. Pos. Player Date of birth (age) Caps Goals Club
16 1GK Younoussa Abiboulaye (2004-09-03) 3 September 2004 (age 20) 2 0 Niger US GN
22 1GK Mahamadou Tanja (1996-07-05) 5 July 1996 (age 28) 17 0 Niger AS FAN
1 1GK Yahaya Babari (1993-09-22) 22 September 1993 (age 31) 2 0 Niger SONIDEP
2 2DF Rahim Alhassane (2002-01-01) 1 January 2002 (age 22) 13 0 Spain Real Oviedo
5 2DF Abdoul Garba (2000-07-18) 18 July 2000 (age 24) 37 1 Niger Douanes
7 2DF Najeeb Yakubu (2000-05-01) 1 May 2000 (age 24) 10 0 Ukraine Vorskla Poltava
13 2DF Abraham Adamou (2002-09-14) 14 September 2002 (age 22) 1 0 Niger US GN
15 2DF Abdoulaye Boureima Katkoré (1993-03-26) 26 March 1993 (age 31) 61 0 Iraq Al-Minaa
19 2DF Boubacar Hama Hainikoye (2002-05-17) 17 May 2002 (age 22) 0 0 Niger US GN
21 2DF Alhabib Hassane Abdou (2003-08-24) 24 August 2003 (age 21) 3 0 Egypt Al Ittihad
2DF Abdoulaye Karim Doudou (1998-09-25) 25 September 1998 (age 26) 13 0 Iraq Al-Minaa
2DF Mohamed Idrissa Karimou (1993-04-06) 6 April 1993 (age 31) 4 0 Niger US GN
2DF Oumar Sako (1996-05-04) 4 May 1996 (age 28) 0 0 Russia Rostov
6 3MF Youssouf Oumarou (1993-02-16) 16 February 1993 (age 31) 58 4 Tunisia Stade Tunisien
8 3MF Yussif Moussa (1998-09-04) 4 September 1998 (age 26) 19 1 Iraq Al-Talaba
12 3MF Moumouni Darankoum (2002-08-07) 7 August 2002 (age 22) 18 0 Qatar Al-Mesaimeer
18 3MF Ousmane Diabaté (1994-07-09) 9 July 1994 (age 30) 40 0 Saudi Arabia Najran
3MF Ali Mohamed (1995-10-07) 7 October 1995 (age 29) 43 0 Israel Maccabi Haifa
3MF Abdoul Madjid Moumouni (1994-05-10) 10 May 1994 (age 30) 31 0 Iraq Al-Shorta
3 4FW Daniel Sosah (1998-09-21) 21 September 1998 (age 26) 18 6 Ukraine Kryvbas Kryvyi Rih
10 4FW Victorien Adebayor (1996-11-12) 12 November 1996 (age 28) 54 20 Niger GNN
11 4FW Boubacar Hainikoye (1998-10-07) 7 October 1998 (age 26) 26 3 Democratic Republic of the Congo TP Mazembe
17 4FW Boubacar Djibril Goumey (2000-07-14) 14 July 2000 (age 24) 12 2 Iraq Zakho
4FW Issa Djibrilla (1996-01-01) 1 January 1996 (age 28) 26 4 Azerbaijan Zira

Recent call-ups

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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 Naim Van Attenhoven (2003-01-31) 31 January 2003 (age 21) 9 0 France Valenciennes v.  Burkina Faso, 26 March 2024
GK Oumarou Issaka (1990-12-02) 2 December 1990 (age 33) 0 0 Niger Douanes v.  Senegal, 8 January 2024
GK Oumarou Soumaila (1987-10-24) 24 October 1987 (age 37) 3 0 Niger US GN v.  Tanzania, 18 June 2023
DF Massoudi Salifou (2004-07-11) 11 July 2004 (age 20) 7 0 Niger Douanes v.  Senegal, 8 January 2024
DF Ousmane Oumarou Mansour 1 0 v.  Senegal, 8 January 2024
DF Yacouba Diori Hamani Magagi (1997-09-08) 8 September 1997 (age 27) 12 0 Spain Castellón v.  Zambia, 21 November 2023
DF Laurent Chamssidine (2001-03-04) 4 March 2001 (age 23) 0 0 Niger Sahel v.  Zambia, 21 November 2023
DF Adamou Djibo (1998-08-13) 13 August 1998 (age 26) 14 0 Moldova Sheriff Tiraspol v.  Libya, 17 October 2023
MF Amadou Moutari (1994-01-19) 19 January 1994 (age 30) 54 3 Jordan Al-Faisaly v.  Burkina Faso, 26 March 2024
MF Salim Abubakar (2003-04-06) 6 April 2003 (age 21) 6 0 Italy Sassuolo v.  Senegal, 8 January 2024
MF Issah Salou (1999-02-04) 4 February 1999 (age 25) 4 0 Denmark Skive IK v.  Senegal, 8 January 2024
MF Amadou Sabo (2000-05-30) 30 May 2000 (age 24) 20 3 Tunisia Club Africain v.  Zambia, 21 November 2023
MF Ousseini Badamassi (1997-04-21) 21 April 1997 (age 27) 11 1 Democratic Republic of the Congo Mazembe v.  Libya, 17 October 2023
FW Kairou Amoustapha (2001-01-01) 1 January 2001 (age 23) 8 1 Mexico Cancún v.  Burkina Faso, 26 March 2024
FW Zakari Junior Lambo (1999-01-19) 19 January 1999 (age 25) 11 1 Belgium La Louvière v.  Senegal, 8 January 2024
FW Mohamed Wonkoye (1994-05-19) 19 May 1994 (age 30) 48 6 Guinea Horoya v.  Senegal, 8 January 2024
FW Seybou Koita (1994-04-15) 15 April 1994 (age 30) 10 0 Oman Oman Club v.  Libya, 17 October 2023

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

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As of 14 November 2024[20]
Players in bold are still active with Niger.

Most appearances

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Rank Player Caps Goals Career
1 Kassaly Daouda 89 0 2002–2022
2 Koffi Dan Kowa 67 4 2008–2018
3 Abdoulaye Katkoré 64 0 2014–present
4 Youssouf Oumarou 63 5 2013–present
5 Victorien Adebayor 55 20 2015–present
6 Moussa Maâzou 54 13 2008–2021
Amadou Moutari 54 3 2012–present
8 Lassina Konaté 53 1 2006–2016
Souleymane Sacko 53 3 2007–2019
10 Mohamed Chikoto 48 2 2008–2016
Mohamed Wonkoye 48 6 2012–present

Top goalscorers

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Rank Player Goals Caps Ratio Career
1 Victorien Adebayor 20 55 0.36 2015–present
2 Moussa Maâzou 13 54 0.24 2008–2021
3 Kamilou Daouda 10 37 0.27 2007–2019
4 Daniel Sosah 8 23 0.35 2021–present
5 Mounkaila Ide Barkire 7 13 0.54 1992–1998
6 Zakari Lambo 6 10 0.6 1990–1995
Mohamed Wonkoye 6 48 0.13 2012–present
8 Mahamane Cissé 5 38 0.13 2013–2022
Youssouf Oumarou 5 63 0.08 2013–present
10 Moussa Yahaya 4 16 0.25 1992–1998
Mossi Issa Moussa 4 17 0.24 2012–present
Issa Djibrilla 4 26 0.15 2020–present
Modibo Sidibé 4 27 0.15 2010–2019
Koffi Dan Kowa 4 67 0.06 2008–2018

Competitive record

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FIFA World Cup

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FIFA World Cup record Qualification record
Year Round Position Pld W D* L GF GA Pld W D L GF GA
1930 to 1958 Part of  France Part of  France
Chile 1962 Not a FIFA member Not a FIFA member
1966 to 1974 Did not enter Did not enter
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 2 1 0 1 2 2
Morocco Portugal Spain 2030 To be determined
Saudi Arabia 2034
Total 0/15 37 11 6 20 40 66

Africa Cup of Nations

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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
United Arab Republic 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
Equatorial Guinea Gabon 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
Morocco 2025
Kenya Tanzania Uganda 2027 To be determined
2029
Total Group stage 2/34 6 0 1 5 1 9
Niger national team against Morocco, 9 February 2011

African Nations Championship

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African Nations Championship record
Appearances: 4
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 Fourth place 4th 5 2 1 2 3 6
Total Fourth place 4/7 15 4 5 6 11 23

Head-to-head record

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As of 17 November 2024
Opponent Games Wins Draws Losses Goals For Goals Against Goal Differential
 Algeria 9 1 0 8 3 27 −24
 Angola 4 0 0 4 2 8 −6
 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 18 3 8 8 15 26 −11
 Cameroon 3 0 1 2 0 4 −4
 Central African Republic 2 0 1 1 3 5 −2
 Chad 2 1 1 0 2 1 +1
 Congo 6 0 2 4 4 12 −8
 Djibouti 2 2 0 0 11 4 +7
 DR Congo 3 1 1 1 4 2 +2
 Egypt 7 1 1 5 2 19 −17
 Equatorial Guinea 1 0 1 0 1 1 0
 Ethiopia 5 2 0 3 4 7 −3
 Eswatini 2 1 1 0 2 1 +1
 Gabon 7 1 0 6 6 16 −10
 Gambia 2 0 1 1 1 3 -2
 Ghana 13 1 2 10 7 40 −33
 Guinea 7 3 0 5 9 13 −4
 Ivory Coast 13 0 2 11 9 29 −20
 Lesotho 2 1 0 1 3 3 0
 Liberia 8 3 2 3 7 10 −3
 Libya 7 0 4 3 7 13 −6
 Madagascar 2 0 1 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
 Mozambique 1 0 1 0 1 1 0
 Namibia 1 1 0 0 2 1 +1
 Nigeria 3 0 0 3 1 7 −6
 Senegal 7 1 2 4 3 7 −4
 Sierra Leone 7 4 0 3 12 15 −3
 Somalia 3 1 2 0 4 1 +1
 South Africa 2 1 0 1 2 3 −1
 Sudan 2 1 0 1 4 1 +3
 Tanzania 3 0 1 2 1 3 -2
 Togo 11 4 3 4 17 17 0
 Tunisia 3 0 0 3 2 4 −2
 Uganda 7 2 2 3 7 9 -2
 Ukraine 1 0 0 1 1 2 −1
 United Arab Emirates 1 0 0 1 0 4 −4
 Zambia 1 1 0 0 2 1 +1
43 Countries 218 48 48 121 204 381 −177

Honours

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Regional

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Notes

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  1. ^ a b Congo refused to travel for their home matches on 6 and 11 June, insisting that they be played in Brazzaville.[17] Cite error: The named reference "CGO June 24" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).

References

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  1. ^ "The FIFA/Coca-Cola Men's World Ranking". FIFA. 24 October 2024. Retrieved 24 October 2024.
  2. ^ Elo rankings change compared to one year ago. "World Football Elo Ratings". eloratings.net. 21 November 2024. Retrieved 21 November 2024.
  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 Archived 2010-10-13 at the Wayback Machine. Confederation of African Football. 10-09-2010
  5. ^ Dama Gazelle Nanger dama Archived 2015-09-24 at the Wayback Machine. Sahara Conservation Fund, 2007, 2011.
  6. ^ "CAN 2019 : la liste du Niger contre l'Egypte sans Maazou". Afrik-Foot. March 21, 2019. Archived from the original on November 15, 2021. Retrieved November 15, 2021.
  7. ^ "Niger team of 2019". national-football-teams.com. National Football Teams. Archived from the original on 2019-03-30. Retrieved 2019-03-30.
  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 Archived 2012-01-24 at the Wayback Machine 2011-02-19
  10. ^ "Niger in historic qualification despite Cairo loss". BBC Sport. British Broadcasting Corporation. 2011-10-08. Archived from the original on 2012-01-19. 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. Archived 2012-01-28 at the Wayback Machine BBC Sport.
  12. ^ "Niger 0-1 Morocco". BBC Sport. Archived from the original on 2021-11-15. Retrieved 2021-11-15.
  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. Archived from the original on November 15, 2021. Retrieved November 15, 2021.
  15. ^ "Страница не найдена". shakhtar.com. Archived from the original on 2021-11-15. Retrieved 2021-11-15.
  16. ^ "Ukraine-Niger | European Qualifiers". Archived from the original on 2014-06-06. Retrieved 2014-06-04.
  17. ^ Al Nassim, Hommam (5 June 2024). "Congo withdraws from its match with Niger in World Cup qualifiers". Northern Africa News. Archived from the original on 8 June 2024. Retrieved 8 June 2024.
  18. ^ "Martial named Niger coach". BBC News. 26 November 2002. Archived from the original on 12 May 2021. Retrieved 17 October 2012.
  19. ^ "La Liste". Facebook. Fédération Nigérienne De Football.
  20. ^ "Niger". National Football Teams. Archived from the original on 2023-09-09. Retrieved 2022-06-15.
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