NIGERIA

Nigeria will have the toughest challenge in the first round as they are in Group F dubbed the "Group Of Death" with Argentina,England and Sweden.The Nigerian team have always been clouded by conflicts between the players and the officials of the Nigerian Football Association.After a dissapointing outing in the African Cup of Nations in Mali where they lost in the semi-finals to Senegal their coach Shaibu Amodu was sacked.This did'nt go well with the players as most of them were dissapointed with the sacking.Now with their new coach Festus Onigbinde who said that he will revamp the whole team before the world cup,makes us think what nigerian team will be in Korea/Japan in June.But with stars such as Nwankwo Kanu,Jay-Jay Okocha and young sensation Julius Aghahowa in the team one could only wonder how far they can go.Since Nigeria are in the group of Death and this will make them prove their worth as the best team in Africa.They also have qualified for the last 2 World Cups,in 1994 and 1998 where they qualified for the second round.They will be hoping to go further this year.

Key Players :Julius Aghahowa,Nwankwo Kanu,Jay-jay Okocha,Celestine Babayaro,Taribo West.