Nigeria Squad Atlanta 1996 Olympic, Lineups And
Results
Undoubtedly, the Nigeria squad for the Atlanta 1996 Olympic football competition remains one of the very
best teams the country has ever produced. Some Super Eagles squads in recent times are not even as good
as this age-grade team.
The ‘Dream Team’ – as they were nicknamed back then – brought suspense to the 1996 Olympic, coming twice
from behind to defeat Brazil with a 4-3 scoreline in the dying seconds of the semi-final after trailing 3-1 and
beating Argentina 3-2 in the final. An Albiceleste side that boast the likes of Ariel Ortega, Claudio Lopez and
Hernan Crespo.
Let me give you a glimpse of the 1996 Brazil Olympic soccer team:
(GK) Dida, (DF) Zé María, (DF) Aldair, (DF) Ronaldo Guiaro, (MF) Flávio Conceição, (DF) Roberto Carlos, (FW)
Bebeto, (MF) Amaral, (MF) Juninho, (MF) Rivaldo, (FW) Sávio, (GK) Danrlei, (DF) Narciso, (MF) André Luiz, (MF)
Zé Elias, (MF) Marcelinho, (FW) Luizão, (FW) Ronaldo
That’s the Brazil squad in 1996.
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Back to Atlanta 1996 Olympic Nigeria squad
The Nigeria Olympic football team 1996 coach was Dutchman Johannes Bonfrere and he was assisted by
Musa Abdulahi.
FIFA and International Olympic Committee (IOC) have a rule (which began in 1992) of allowing a maximum of
three over aged players (above 23) in the tournament.
Jo Bonfrere included two overaged players from the Super Eagles to provide depth and experience, i.e. Uche
Okechukwu (28) and Emmanuel Amunike (25).
Also, there was this FIFA rule regarding Olympic soccer games that go into extra time, it allowed for the first
team to score a goal in extra time (known as “Golden Goal”), to be declared winner.
In just about four minutes into extra time, Nwankwo Kanu won Nigeria vs Brazil 1996 semifinal for his side via
the Golden Goal rule. The rest is history.
Nigeria was grouped alongside Brazil, Hungary and Japan during the first round.
Before showing you what the Atlanta 1996 Olympic Nigeria squad look like, let's see the Dream Team's lineup in
every match.
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Olympics 1996 Group D
Nigeria v Hungary Starting Lineup:
1. Goalkeeper: Joseph Dosu
2. Defender: Uche Okechukwu
3. Defender: Mobi Obaraku
4. Defender/Centre back: Taribo West
5. Defender/Left back: Celestine Babayaro
6. Midfielder: Emmanuel Amunike
7. Midfielder: Jay Jay Okocha
8. Midfielder: Sunday Oliseh
9. Forward: Daniel Amokachi
10. Forward: Tijana Babangida
11. Forward: Nwankwo Kanu
Substitutions:
Garba Lawal for Emmanuel Amunike in the 75th minute
Victor Ikpeba for Nwankwo Kanu in the 80th minute
Scoreline was Nigeria 1-0 Hungary and the goal was scored by Nwankwo Kanu in the 77th minute.
Nigeria v Japan Starting Lineup:
1. Goalkeeper: Joseph Dosu
2. Defender: Mobi Obaraku
3. Defender: Uche Okechukwu
4. Defender/Centre back: Taribo West
5. Defender/Left back: Celestine Babayaro
6. Midfielder: Emmanuel Amunike
7. Midfielder: Jay Jay Okocha
8. Midfielder: Sunday Oliseh
9. Forward: Daniel Amokachi
10. Forward: Tijana Babangida
11. Forward: Nwankwo Kanu
Substitutions:
Garba Lawal for Emmanuel Amunike in the 72th minute
Victor Ikpeba for Nwankwo Kanu n the 86th minute
Scoreline was Nigeria 2-0 Japan and the goals were scored by Tijana Babangida in the 82nd minute and Jay-
Jay Okocha via Penalty in 89th minute.
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Brazil v Nigeria Starting Lineup:
1. Goalkeeper: Joseph Dosu
2. Defender: Abiodun Obafemi
3. Defender: Mobi Obaraku
4. Defender: Uche Okechukwu
5. Defender/Centre back: Taribo West
6. Midfielder: Emmanuel Amunike
7. Midfielder: Jay Jay Okocha
8. Midfielder: Sunday Oliseh
9. Forward: Daniel Amokachi
10. Forward: Tijana Babangida
11. Forward: Nwankwo Kanu
Substitutions:
Garba Lawal for Abiodun Obafemi in the 47th minute
Victor Ikpeba for Emmanuel Amunike in the 63rd minute
Teslim Babatunde Fatusi for Tijana Babangida in the 81st minute
Scoreline was Brazil 1-0 Nigeria and the goal was scored by Ronaldo in the 30th minute.
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Olympics 1996 Quarter-final
Nigeria v Mexico Atlanta 96 Starting Lineup:
1. Goalkeeper: Joseph Dosu
2. Defender: Mobi Obaraku
3. Defender: Uche Okechukwu
4. Defender/Centre back: Taribo West
5. Defender/Left back: Celestine Babayaro
6. Midfielder: Emmanuel Amunike
7. Midfielder: Jay Jay Okocha
8. Midfielder: Sunday Oliseh
9. Forward: Daniel Amokachi
10. Forward: Tijana Babangida
11. Forward: Nwankwo Kanu
Substitutions:
Victor Ikpeba for Tijana Babangida in the 56th minute
Teslim Fatusi for Nwankwo Kanu in the 67th minute
Garba Lawal for Emmanuel Amunike in the 86th mnute
Scoreline was Nigeria 2-0 Mexico and the goals were scored by Jay-Jay Okocha in the 20th minute and
Celestine Babayaro in the 85th minute.
Olympics 1996 Semi-final
This is when Nigeria beat Brazil, unlike the game during the group stages where the Dream Team fell by a lone
goal. History did not repeat itself here.
Nigeria vs Brazil 1996 line up:
1. Goalkeeper: Joseph Dosu
2. Defender: Mobi Obaraku
3. Defender: Uche Okechukwu
4. Defender/Centre back: Taribo West
5. Defender/Left back: Celestine Babayaro
6. Midfielder: Emmanuel Amunike
7. Midfielder: Garba Lawal
8. Midfielder: Jay-Jay Okocha
9. Forward: Daniel Amokachi
10. Forward: Tijana Babangida
11. Forward: Nwankwo Kanu
Substitutions:
Victor Ikpeba for Emmanuel Amunike in the 46th minute
Teslim Fatusi for Tijana Babangida in the 68th minute
Wilson Oruma for Mobi Obaraku in the 83rd minute
Nigeria vs Brazil 1996 score was 4-3 in favor of the Dream Team and the goals were scored by:
Nigeria
1. Roberto Carlos – Own Goal (20)
2. Victor Ikpeba (78)
3. Nwankwo Kanu (90)
4. Nwankwo Kanu (93)
Brazil
1. Flavio Conceicao (2)
2. Bebeto (27)
3. Flavio Conceicao (37)
The Brazil v Nigeria men's football semi final at Atlanta 1996 remains the best and toughest of the tournament.
You can see Nigeria vs Brazil 1996 Atlanta Olympics full match here. And f it's the highlights you want, see it
here
SEE ALSO | Nigeria 1994 World Cup Squad – The Complete List
1996 Olympics football final
Nigeria vs Argentina 1996 line up
1. Goalkeeper: Joseph Dosu
2. Defender: Mobi Obaraku
3. Defender: Uche Okechukwu
4. Defender/Centre back: Taribo West
5. Defender/Left back: Celestine Babayaro
6. Midfielder: Jay Jay Okocha
7. Midfielder: Sunday Oliseh
8. Forward: Daniel Amokachi
9. Forward: Tijana Babangida
10. Forward: Victor Ikpeba
11. Forward: Nwankwo Kanu
Substitutions:
Garba Lawal for Jay Jay Okocha in the 59th minute
Wilson Oruma for Mobi Obaraku in the 61st minute
Emmanuel Amunike for Victor Ikpeba in the 72nd minute
Nigeria vs Argentina 1996 score was 3-2 in favour of the Dream Team and the goals were scored by:
Nigeria
1. Celestine Babayaro (28)
2. Daniel Amokachi (74)
3. Emmanuel Amunike (89)
Argentina
1. Claudio Lopez (3)
2. Hernan Crespo – Penalty (49)
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Let's now see the FULL Nigeria Squad Atlanta 1996.
Atlanta 96 Nigeria Squad
Position Goalkeeper
Shirt No. 1
Player Emmanuel Babayaro
Country Nigeria
Club Plateau United
DOB 12/26/1976
Position
Shirt No. 19
Player Abiodun Baruwa
Country Nigeria
Club Shooting Stars FC
DOB 11/16/1974
Position
Shirt No. 18
Player Joseph Dosu
Country Italy
Club AC Reggiana
DOB 6/19/1973
Position Defender
Shirt No.
Player
Country
Club
DOB
Position
Shirt No. 2
Player Celestine Babayaro
Country Belgium
Club RSC Anderlecht
DOB 8/29/1978
Position
Shirt No. 21
Player Patrick Ndah
Country
Club
DOB 11/20/1973
Position
Shirt No. 16
Player King Obie
Country
Club
DOB 11/12/1974
Position
Shirt No. 5
Player Uche Okechukwu
Country Turkey
Club Fenerbahçe
DOB 9/27/1967
Position
Shirt No. 17
Player Mobi Oparaku
Country Belgium
Club KFC Turnhout
DOB 12/1/1976
Position
Shirt No. 3
Player Taribo West
Country France
Club AJ Auxerre
DOB 3/26/1974
Position Midfielder
Shirt No.
Player
Country
Club
DOB
Position
Shirt No. 9
Player Teslim Fatusi
Country Switzerland
Club Servette Genève
DOB 9/17/1977
Position
Shirt No. 13
Player Garba Lawal
Country Tunisia
Club Espérance de Tunis
DOB 5/22/1974
Position
Shirt No. 12
Player Abiodun Obafemi
Country Germany
Club Fortuna Düsseldorf
DOB 12/25/1973
Position
Shirt No. 10
Player Jay Jay Okocha
Country Turkey
Club Fenerbahçe
DOB 8/14/1973
Position
Shirt No. 15
Player Sunday Oliseh
Country Germany
Club 1. FC Köln
DOB 9/14/1974
Position
Shirt No. 8
Player Wilson Oruma
Country France
Club AS Nancy
DOB 12/30/1976
Position Forward
Shirt No.
Player
Country
Club
DOB
Position
Shirt No. 22
Player Jonathan Akpoborie
Country Germany
Club Hansa Rostock
DOB 10/20/1968
Position
Shirt No. 14
Player Daniel Amokachi
Country Turkey
Club Beşiktaş
DOB 12/30/1972
Position
Shirt No. 6
Player Emmanuel Amunike
Country Portugal
Club Sporting CP
DOB 12/25/1970
Position
Shirt No. 7
Player Tijjani Babangida
Country Netherlands
Club AFC Ajax
DOB 9/25/1973
Position
Shirt No. 11
Player Victor Ikpeba
Country France
Club AS Monaco
DOB 6/12/1973
Position
Shirt No. 4
Player Nwankwo Kanu
Country Italy
Club Inter
DOB 8/1/1976
Position
Shirt No. 20
Player Pascal Onya
Country Nigeria
Club Shooting Stars FC
DOB 12/24/1974
Position Manager
Shirt No.
Player
Country
Club
DOB
Position
Shirt No.
Player Jo Bonfrere
Country
Club
DOB 6/15/1946
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This article was most recently revised and updated 2 years ago
Greg Afamah
https://goalballlive.com
Greg is a Sports content writer. He has many years of experience in Sports Writing. He was a writer for Opera
News and is Editor-in-Chief at GoalBall.
October 10, 2021