Niger national football team

Niger

Nickname(s)	Ménas
Association	Fédération Nigerienne de Football
Confederation	CAF (Africa)
Sub-confederation	WAFU (West Africa)
Head coach	François Zahoui
Captain	Moussa Maâzou
Home stadium	Stade Seyni Kountché
FIFA code	NIG
First colours Second colours
FIFA ranking
Current	128 (24 November 2016)
Highest	68 (November 1994)
Lowest	196 (August 2002)
Elo ranking
Current	121
Highest	103 (July 1991)
Lowest	146 (December 1980)
First international
Niger 2–2 Chad  (Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire; 25 December 1961)
Biggest win
Niger 7–1 Mauritania  (Niamey, Niger; 12 October 1990)
Biggest defeat
Congo 10–0 Niger (Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire; 27 December 1961)
Africa Cup of Nations
Appearances	2 (first in 2012)
Best result	Group stage, 2012 and 2013

The Niger national football team, nicknamed the Menas,^[1][2] represents Niger in international association football through the Fédération Nigerienne de Football (FNFB), 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^[3] The Dama appears on their badge in the colors of the national flag.

History

Although one of the weaker 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 Fédération Nigerienne de Football (FNFB) would have turned to fundraising to pay for their trip to the 2010 African Cup of Nations in Angola, had they qualified.^[4]

In June 2008, Romanian coach Dan Anghelescu^[5] took over as team manager from Hamey Amadou, who was dismissed. Anghelescu had been coaching in Africa since 1999, training teams from Algeria, Tunisia and Burkina Faso. On 19 December 2008, Anghelescu was dismissed after a disastrous six-month spell. Former Niger U-17 coach Frederic Costa was appointed the new head coach of the Niger national side. Harouna Doula Gabde, a former Nigerien international, succeeded them in 2009.^[6]

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 ACON 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.^[7]

After home wins—as well as away losses—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.^[8][9] 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.^[10]

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.^[11]

In their first match at the 2013 Africa Cup of Nations, Niger lost to Mali (1–0) 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.^[12] 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.^[13][14]

Competition records

World Cup record

FIFA World Cup record Year Round Position Pld W D L GF GA 1930 to 1974 Did not enter 1978 to 1982 Did not qualify 1986 Withdrew 1990 Did not enter 1994 Did not qualify 1998 Withdrew 2002 Did not enter 2006 to 2018 Did not qualify 2022 To be determined Total 0/20

Africa Cup of Nations record African Cup of Nations record Year Round Position Pld W D L GF GA 1957 to 1968 Did not enter 1970 to 1972 Did not qualify 1974 Withdrew 1976 Did not qualify 1978 to 1980 Withdrew 1982 Did not enter 1984 Did not qualify 1986 to 1990 Did not enter 1992 to 1994 Did not qualify 1996 Withdrew during qualifying 1998 Disqualified for withdrawing in 1996 2000 to 2010 Did not qualify 2012 Group Stage 15th 3 0 0 3 1 5 2013 Group Stage 15th 3 0 1 2 0 4 2015 Did not qualify 2017 Did not qualify 2019 To be determined Total 2 Group Stages 2/30 6 0 1 5 1 9

Niger national team against Morocco, February 09, 2011

Head-to-Head Records against other countries

As of 23 May 2014

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	13	3	4	6	16	20	−4
Botswana	3	2	1	0	4	2	+2
Burkina Faso*	15	3	5	7	13	22	−9
Cameroon	3	0	1	2	0	4	−4
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	12	0	2	10	9	28	−19
Egypt	4	1	0	3	1	7	−6
Equatorial Guinea	1	0	1	0	1	1	0
Ethiopia	3	1	0	2	3	4	−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
Mali	8	1	2	5	4	10	−6
Mauritania	5	3	2	0	10	3	+7
Morocco	6	1	0	5	2	15	−13
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	1	0	0	1	1	2	−1
Uganda	4	1	1	2	4	5	−1
Ukraine	1	0	0	1	1	2	−1
United Arab Emirates	1	0	0	1	0	4	−4
34 Countries	159	34	34	91	141	290	−149

• Niger beat Burkina Faso 1–0 in a match played on 27 July 2013, but because of losing the first match 1–0, this match went to extra time and then the penalties. Niger lost 6–5 on penalties, but under the FIFA rules, this match counts as a win.
• Match versus Libya in November 2010 finished 1–1, after which Niger lost 4–1 in penalty shootout. Under the rules of association football and the official European Championship tournament regulations, a loss inflicted via a penalty shootout does not count as a defeat, but rather a tie which needed a final process to determine the team which advances.

Recent results and forthcoming fixtures

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Niger  v  DR Congo

24 January 2013	Niger	0–0	DR Congo	Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium, Port Elizabeth
20:00		Report		Attendance: 12,000 Referee: Bouchaïb El Ahrach (Morocco)

Niger  v  Ghana

28 January 2013	Niger	0–3	Ghana	Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium, Port Elizabeth
19:00		Report	Gyan  6' Atsu  23' Boye  49'	Attendance: 10,000 Referee: Badara Diatta (Senegal)

United Arab Emirates  v  Niger

9 October 2016 Friendly	United Arab Emirates	4–0	Niger	Dubai, United Arab Emirates
17:00 UTC+4:00	Salem Saleh  15' (20) Hassan Ibrahim  55' Mohammed Marzooq  84'			Attendance: 2 Referee: Abdulla Mohammed

Current squad

The following players were called up for the 2017 Africa Cup of Nations qualification matches against Senegal in March 2016.

Caps & goals as of 29 March 2016.

0#0	Pos.	Player	Date of birth (age)	Caps	Goals	Club
	GK	Kassaly Daouda	August 19, 1983	60	0	Nigelec
	GK	Moussa Alzouma	September 30, 1982	7	0	GNN
	GK	Issa Losseiny	April 5, 1992	0	0	AS FAN
	DF	Koffi Dan Kowa	September 19, 1989	58	3	Dila Gori
	DF	Mohamed Chikoto	February 28, 1989	47	2	ASM Oran
	DF	Mohamed Soumaïla	October 30, 1994	34	0	Noisy-le-Sec
	DF	Kourouma Fatoukouma	July 11, 1984	28	1	Musan Salama
	DF	Amadou Kader	April 5, 1989	25	0	Minerva
	DF	Abdoulaye Katkoré	March 26, 1993	21	0	AS FAN
	DF	Mahamadou Souley	February 18, 1995	7	0	GNN
	MF	Karim Lancina	March 20, 1987	52	1	Thaon
	MF	Souleymane Sacko (captain)	August 1, 1987	37	3	GNN
	MF	Ali Mohamed	August 7, 1995	24	0	Maccabi Netanya
	MF	Amadou Wonkoye	May 19, 1994	12	1	Unattached
	MF	Olivier Bonnes	February 7, 1990	12	0	Gwangju FC
	MF	Hassane Djibó	June 6, 1992	0	0	Strand 08
	FW	Moussa Maâzou	August 25, 1988	43	12	Randers
	FW	Mahamane Cissé	December 27, 1993	21	4	Léopards
	FW	Amadou Moutari	January 19, 1994	20	0	Anzhi
	FW	Adebayor Zakari Adje	November 12, 1996	5	2

List of coaches

• Heinz-Peter Überjahn (1981–1986)
• Tiemogo Soumaila (?-1992)
• David Nadjadoum (1992–?)
• Tiemogo Soumaïla (?-1998)
• Amadou Touré (1998–1999)
• Patrice Neveu (1999–2000)
• Jean-Yves Chay (2000)
• Harouna Doula Amadou (?-?)
• Yeo Martial (2002–2003)^[15]
• Bana Tchanile (2006–2007)
• Hamey Amadou (2007–2008)
• Dan Anghelescu (2008)
• Frederic Costa (2008–2009)
• Harouna Doula Gabde (2009–2012)
• Rolland Courbis (2012)
• Gernot Rohr (2012–2014)
• Cheick Omar Diabate (2014–2015)
• François Zahoui (2015–present)

References

1. Orange 2012 Afcon qualifiers :130 Million FCFA for the Menas. 22/05/2011 StarAfrica sports.
2. Menas to test Pharaohs form. Confederation of African Football. 10-09-2010
3. Dama Gazelle Nanger dama. Sahara Conservation Fund, 2007, 2011.
4. "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.".
5. "Announcement about Dan Anghelescu becoming the manager of Niger". (French)
6. FACTBOX-Soccer-Factbox on African Nations Cup finalists Niger. 2012-01-18, Reuters.
7. CHAN 2011 : Un Niger héroïque mais éliminé par le Soudan – Football/CHAN 2011 – RFI 2011-02-19
8. "Niger in historic qualification despite Cairo loss". BBC Sport. British Broadcasting Corporation. 2011-10-08. Retrieved 2011-10-08.
9. 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.
10. http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/16803984
11. http://www.mtnfootball.com/africa/african-tournaments/2013-afcon-qualifiers/
12. http://www.ghanaweb.com/GhanaHomePage/NewsArchive/artikel.php?ID=263428
13. http://shakhtar.com/en/news/31806
14. http://www.uefa.com/friendlies/season=2014/matches/round=2000374/match=2014301/index.html
15. "Martial named Niger coach". BBC News. 26 November 2002.

External links

• Niger Football Federation website