He was 2002 nominated in the 36 man squad for the Fifa World Cup 2002, [1] his first game for the Nigeria national football team was on 20 June 2004 Vs. Angola. [2]
The FIFA World Cup, often called the World Cup, is an international association football competition among the senior men's national teams of the members of the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA), the sport's global governing body. The tournament has been held every four years since the inaugural tournament in 1930, with the exception of 1942 and 1946 due to the Second World War. The reigning champions are Argentina, who won their third title at the 2022 tournament.
The 2002 FIFA World Cup, also branded as Korea/Japan 2002, was the 17th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial football world championship for men's national teams organized by FIFA. It was held from 31 May to 30 June 2002 at sites in South Korea and Japan, with its final match hosted by Japan at International Stadium in Yokohama. During the opening ceremony, the championship was declared opened by President of South Korea Kim Dae-jung.
The Brazil national football team, nicknamed Seleção Canarinho, represents Brazil in men's international football and is administered by the Brazilian Football Confederation (CBF), the governing body for football in Brazil. They have been a member of FIFA since 1923 and a member of CONMEBOL since 1916.
Hidetoshi Nakata, OSSI is a Japanese former professional footballer who played as a midfielder. Considered one of the best talents to come from an Asian Football Confederation (AFC) country in the early late 1990s and early 2000s, Nakata became the first ever AFC player to be nominated for the Ballon d'Or.
The Germany national football team represents Germany in men's international football and played its first match in 1908. The team is governed by the German Football Association, founded in 1900. Between 1949 and 1990, separate German national teams were recognised by FIFA due to Allied occupation and division: the DFB's team representing the Federal Republic of Germany, the Saarland team representing the Saar Protectorate (1950–1956) and the East Germany team representing the German Democratic Republic (1952–1990). The latter two were absorbed along with their records; the present team represents the reunified Federal Republic. The official name and code "Germany FR (FRG)" was shortened to "Germany (GER)" following reunification in 1990.
The Belgium national football team has officially represented Belgium in men's international football since their maiden match in 1904. The squad is under the global jurisdiction of FIFA and is governed in Europe by UEFA—both of which were co-founded by the Belgian team's supervising body, the Royal Belgian Football Association. Periods of regular Belgian representation at the highest international level, from 1920 to 1938, from 1980 to 2002 and again from 2014 onwards, have alternated with mostly unsuccessful qualification rounds. Most of Belgium's home matches are played at the King Baudouin Stadium in Brussels.
The Poland national football team represents Poland in men's international football competitions since their first match in 1921. It is governed by the Polish Football Association (PZPN), the governing body for football in Poland. They are known by the nicknames "The White-Reds" and "The Eagles", symbolized by their coat of arms featuring a white eagle on a red background. The team reached their peak World Ranking of 5th in 2017. Poland's home ground is the Kazimierz Górski National Stadium in Warsaw. The current head coach is Michał Probierz.
The Malta national football team represents Malta in men's international football and is controlled by the Malta Football Association, the governing body for football in Malta.
The Chinese Football Association (CFA) is the governing body for association football, beach soccer and futsal in the People's Republic of China. The CFA organizes the men's and women's national teams and administers the country's professional leagues as well as organizing the national knockout cup competition Chinese FA Cup. As members of East Asian Football Federation its national teams are eligible for the East Asian Football Championship and the country's membership in AFC allows teams to participate in that organizations club and national team competitions. China is also a member of FIFA and is therefore eligible to play in the World Cup.
The Kazakhstan national football team represents Kazakhstan in men's international football and it is governed by the Kazakhstan Football Federation. They split from the Soviet Union national team after independence in 1991 and joined the Asian Football Confederation's Central Asian Football Federation. After failing to qualify for the 1998 and 2002 FIFA World Cups, they joined UEFA, but are yet to qualify for a FIFA World Cup or a UEFA European Championship.
The Ecuador national football team, nicknamed La Tricolor, represents Ecuador in men's international football and is controlled by the Ecuadorian Football Federation (FEF). They joined FIFA in 1926 and CONMEBOL a year later.
The Senegal national football team, nicknamed Les Lions de la Teranga, represents Senegal in international association football and is operated by the Senegalese Football Federation.
The South Korea national football team represents South Korea in men's international football and is governed by the Korea Football Association, a member of FIFA and the Asian Football Confederation (AFC).
The Kuwait national football team represents Kuwait and is controlled by the Kuwait Football Association. Kuwait made its only FIFA World Cup finals appearance in 1982, managing one point in the group stage. In the Asian Cup, Kuwait reached the final in 1976 and won the tournament in 1980.
The Guinea national football team represents Guinea in men's international football and it is controlled by the Guinean Football Federation. They have never qualified for the FIFA World Cup finals, and their best finish in the Africa Cup of Nations was runners-up in 1976. The team reached the quarter-finals in four recent tournaments. The team represents both FIFA and Confederation of African Football (CAF).
The Togo national football team represents Togo in international football and is controlled by the Togolese Football Federation. The national football team of Togo made their debut in the FIFA World Cup in 2006. Their team bus underwent a fatal attack in Angola prior to the 2010 Africa Cup of Nations. They withdrew and were subsequently banned from the following two tournaments by the Confederation of African Football (CAF). In 2013 for the first time in history, Togo reached the quarter-finals of the Africa Cup of Nations. The team represents both FIFA and the Confederation of African Football (CAF).
The Jordan national football team represents Jordan in international football and is controlled by the Jordan Football Association. Jordan have never qualified for the World Cup finals but have appeared five times in the Asian Cup and reached the final match of a major tournament for the first time in the 2023 edition, finishing as runners-up for the first time.
The Oman national football team represents Oman in men's international football and is controlled by the Oman Football Association.
Antalyaspor Kulübü is a Turkish professional multi-sport club based in Antalya, southern Turkey. The club's colours are red and white.
The Greece women's national football team represents Greece in international women's football. The only international tournament the team took place in were the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens. Automatically qualified as hosts, Greece lost all three matches in their group without scoring a goal.