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791 vs. Sweden ~ 792 vs. Argentina
793
794 vs. Denmark ~ 795 vs. Brazil

Wednesday, 12 June 2002
2002 FIFA World Cup Finals First Phase Group F, match five/six

Nigeria 0 England 0 [0-0]
 

Osaka-shi Nagai Rikujo Kyogijo, Higashisumiyoshi-ku, Osaka, Kansai, Japan
Attendance: 44,864;
Kick-off: 3.30pm local, 7.30am BST
Live on
BBC One (UK) - Commentator: John Motson and Trevor Brooking

  Match Summary
Nigeria Squad
England Squad
no red or yellow cards
Results 2000-2005

Nigeria kicked-off. 92 minutes (46 & 46).

 

Match Summary

Officials

Nigeria

Type

England

Referee (black) - Brian Hall
41 (5 June 1961), California, United States, FIFA-listed 1992.

Assistant Referees - Hector Osvaldo Vergara, 35 (15 December 1966), San Javier de Loncomilla, Chile and Evzen Amler, 44 (15 May 1958), Praha, Czech Republic.

Fourth Official -
Toru Kamikawa, 39 (8 June 1963), Kagoshima, Japan, FIFA-listed 1998.
10 Goal Attempts 22
5 Attempts on Target 9
0 Hit Bar/Post 1
5 Corner Kicks Won 7
1 Offside Calls Against 1
11 Fouls Conceded 5
52% Possession 48%

Nigeria Team

 

Rank:

FIFA (15 May 2002) =27th
EFO ranking

ELO rating 32nd to 30th
Colours: Made by Nike - Very light green collared jerseys with white collar front/side flashes, light green shorts with white side flash, light green socks.
Capt: Jay Jay Okacha Manager: Festus Onigbinde, 64 (5 March 1938), appointed Head Coach 18 February 2002, previously in charge 1981-84.
eighth match, W 4 - D 2 - L 2 - F 10 - A 6
.
Nigeria Lineup
22 Enyeama, Vincent 19 29 August 1982 G

Enyimba IFC

3 GA
2 Yobo, Joseph P. 21 6 September 1980 CD Olympique de Marseille, France 17 0
14 Udeze, Ifeanyi 21 21 July 1980 LB Panthessalonikios Athlitikos Omilos Constantinoupoliton, Greece 17 0
16 Sodje, Efetobore P. 29 5 October 1972
born in London
RB

Crewe Alexandra FC, England

9 1
5 Okoronkwo, Isaac 24 1 May 1978 CD FC Shakhtar Donetsk, Ukraine 15 0
15 Christopher, Justice L. 20 24 December 1981 CM Royal Antwerp FC, Belgium 10 0
20 Obiorah, James C. 23 24 August 1978 CM FC Lokomotiv Moskva, Russia 3 1
17 Aghahowa, Julius 20 12 February 1982 F FC Shakhtar Donetsk, Ukraine 20 12
18 Akwuegbu, Benedict 27 3 November 1974 F Shenyang Ginde, China 17 5
10 Okocha, Augustine A. 28 14 August 1973 RM Paris Saint-Germain FC, France 59 8
23 Opabunmi, Femi, off 86th min. 17 3 March 1985 LM Shooting Stars SC 3 1
Nigeria Substitutes
7 Ikedia, Pius N., on 86th min. for Opabunmi 21 11 July 1980 F Amsterdamsche FC Ajax, Netherlands 12 0
unused substitutes: 1-Ike Shorunmu, 3-Celestine Babayaro, 6-Taribo West, 8-Mutiu Adepoju, 9-Bartholomew Ogbeche, 11-Garba Lawal, 12-Austin Ejide, 13-Rabiu Afolabi, 19-Eric Ejiofor, 21-John Utakar.
 
4-4-2 Enyeama -
Sodje, Yobo, Yobo, Okoronkwo, Udeze -
Okocha, Christopher, Obiorah, Opabunmi
(Ikedia) -
Aghahowa, Akwuegbu.

Averages:

Age - Appearances/Goals - -

 

England Team

 

Rank:

FIFA (15 May 2002) 12th
EFO ranking

ELO rating 6th to 8th
Colours: The 2002 Umbro away uniform - Dark red v-neck jersey with navy rear collar/cuffs trimmed with England flag, navy shoulder seams, white shorts with red side panel and navy seams, red socks with navy band, trimmed with England flag.
Capt: David Beckham, sixteenth captaincy. Head Coach: Sven-Göran Eriksson, 54 (5 February 1948), appointed 30 October 2000, took post 12 January 2001.
18th match, W 9 - D 7 - L 2 - F 35 - A 15.
England Lineup
1 Seaman, David A. 38 19 September 1963 G Arsenal FC 71 39 GA
2 Mills, Daniel J. 25 18 May 1977 RB Leeds United AFC 10 0
3 Cole, Ashley, off 85th min. 21 20 December 1980 LB Arsenal FC 11 0
4 Sinclair, Trevor L. 29 2 March 1973 LM West Ham United FC 7 0
5 Ferdinand, Rio G. 23 7 November 1978 CD Leeds United AFC 25 0
6 Campbell, Sulzeer J. 27 18 September 1974 CD Arsenal FC 49 1
7 Beckham, David R.J. 27 2 May 1975 RM

Manchester United FC

52 7
8 Scholes, Paul 27 16 November 1974 CM Manchester United FC 47 13
21 Butt, Nicholas 27 21 January 1975 CM

Manchester United FC

20 0
10 Owen, Michael J., off 77th min. 22 14 December 1979 F Liverpool FC 39 16
11 Heskey, Emile W.I., off 69th min. 24 11 January 1978 F

Liverpool FC

27 3
England Substitutes
17 Sheringham, Edward P., on 69th min. for Heskey 36 2 April 1966 F Tottenham Hotspur FC 49 11
20 Vassell, Darius C., on 77th min. for Owen 21 13 June 1980 F Aston Villa FC 7 3
14 Bridge, Wayne M., on 85th min. for Cole 21 5 August 1980 D Southampton FC 7 0
unused substitutes: 9-Robbie Fowler, 12-Wes Brown, 13-Nigel Martyn, 15-Martin Keown, 16-Gareth Southgate, 19-Joe Cole, 22-David James, 23-Kieron Dyer.
team notes: Teddy Sheringham came on for a record 19th substitution.
This is the third time England have recorded seven draws in a single season.
 
4-4-2 Seaman -
Mills, Ferdinand, Campbell,
A Cole (Bridge) -
Beckham, Butt, Scholes, Sinclair -
Owen
(Vassell), Heskey (Sheringham).

Averages:

Age 26.4 Appearances/Goals - -

 

    Match Report by Mike Payne

 

Source Notes

England laboured to an uninspiring goalless draw against Nigeria in Osaka - yet it proved enough to put Sven-Göran Eriksson's men into the last 16.  The real highlight of the afternoon for England fans was not their team's performance but the fact that Sweden had knocked out fierce rivals Argentina in the other group game. England now face Denmark on Saturday after finishing second in Group F, and Sweden take on Senegal on Sunday.

After the euphoria of the win against Argentina, England were always going to find it difficult to lift themselves for a game where a draw would suffice.  The humid conditions seemed to sap the England players' energy and Nigeria, with nothing else to play for other than pride, made the better start.  Ifeanyi Udeze proved a menace on Nigeria's left, while Benedict Akwuegbu and Julius Aghahowa were a handful for the England defence.

Akwuegbu squandered the Africans' best chance on 35 minutes, opting to go for glory from a tight angle.  But goalkeeper David Seaman was alert to the danger, covering his near post to block the striker's shot.  A minute earlier, memories of Michael Owen's fabulous solo goal against Argentina in France 98 were evoked.

The striker set off on a dazzling run, leaving a trail of Nigerian defenders in his wake, but Isaac Okoronkwo made a superb tackle to divert Owen's shot although no corner was given.  Despite a lethargic opening, England ended the first half in the ascendancy with the excellent Paul Scholes unleashing a powerful shot.  The ball appeared destined for the top right-hand corner but Vincent Enyeama produced a breathtaking save to palm it onto the post.

After the interval, England provided little to suggest that they would get the breakthrough.  Indeed, that the best performance of the game should come from the increasingly impressive Rio Ferdinand said much about England's display.  Ferdinand marshalled England's defence with an air of excellence arguably not seen since the era of the late Bobby Moore.

Eriksson brought on Teddy Sheringham for the ineffective Emile Heskey, and Darius Vassell for Owen to inject some much-needed pace into the England attack.  And Sheringham almost scored immediately on his introduction, but could not keep his shot down inside the area.  His miss would not prove too costly though given events in the Argentina-Sweden game. 

The only concern for Eriksson will be his side's inability to find their way past a defence that is probably not as organised as that which they will encounter against Denmark.

TheFA.com
BBC Football
Original newspaper reports
Rothman's Yearbooks

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CG