Why France 1998 World Cup was my best – Mutiu Adepoju

Former Super Eagles player and La Liga ambassador Mutiu Adepoju chose his time with the national team in the 1998 France World Cup as his finest national team moment.

Adepoju is one of the few privileged Nigerians to have played in three different editions of the FIFA World Cup, having played in the 1994, 1998 and 2002 editions.

Speaking as a guest on the PREMIUM TIMES Twitter spaces, Adepoju said he still has fond memories of playing at the World Cup, adding that it was unfortunate that Nigeria were absent of the Qatar 2022 World Cup starting on Sunday in Qatar.

The Super Eagles were "almost men" for many years before finally breaking the curse and qualifying for the tournament in the United States.

"Yeah, it was a very special feeling, with what had happened and Nigeria qualifying for the first time. I can't describe how I felt going to the World Cup, the biggest tournament in the world and representing Nigeria for the first time. It was great! And I was delighted to be in the United States with the experiences that I was able to accumulate. It was a very special feeling began Adepoju.

"I would say the 1998 World Cup was my best. I was part of the production, including the Nations Cup. In the 1994 World Cup, I did not order a jersey a lot of players came in. I was young, and we shared minutes, but in 1998 I played in all the qualifying matches, including the Nations Cup. I would say it would have been better for me if I hadn't lost to Denmark in the second round. Those were great games, both in '94 and in '98", the director recalls.

Adepoju is fondly remembered by Nigerian football fans for the classic header he scored in the five-goal thriller against Spain as the Eagles came from behind twice to win 3-2

Adepoju's 24th-minute header canceled out Fernando Hierro's 21st-minute opener, which was Nigeria's first goal at France 98.

While Adepoju was also at the 2002 World Cup, there was less cause for celebration as coach Adegboye Onigbinde left him on the bench throughout the tournament.

“During the 2002 World Cup, I couldn't play any matches at the time, time was passing and I couldn't play any minutes seeing the matches on the bench. The most important thing is to be there to motivate the players who were very young at the time,” Adepoju revealed.

The La Liga ambassador to Nigeria admits that playing at the World Cup has helped his career progress, although he added that it is every player's dream to play at this biggest scene.

"Definitely you can't see or say that every player plays in the World Cup, every player wants to play in the World Cup even once. I have the privilege of playing in three World Cups for the Nigeria and I can say the feeling was too strong. The experiences and everything you get there is out of this world. Every player will just want to play in the World Cup,” Adepoju added.

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