Nigeria went to Russia 2018 under coach Gernot Rohr with a 19-year-old, Francis Uzoho, in goal. The Super Eagles beat Iceland 2-0, lost to Croatia and Argentina, and went out in the group stage on three points. Marcos Rojo's goal in the 86th minute in St Petersburg decided it.

The 23 players Gernot Rohr took to Russia

No.	Position	Player	Club in June
1	GK	Ikechukwu Ezenwa	Enyimba
2	DF	Brian Idowu	Amkar Perm
3	DF	Elderson Echiéjilé	Cercle Brugge
4	MF	Wilfred Ndidi	Leicester City
5	DF	William Troost-Ekong	Bursaspor
6	DF	Leon Balogun	Mainz 05
7	FW	Ahmed Musa	CSKA Moscow
8	MF	Oghenekaro Etebo	Las Palmas
9	FW	Odion Ighalo	Changchun Yatai
10	MF	John Obi Mikel (captain)	Tianjin TEDA
11	FW	Victor Moses	Chelsea
12	DF	Shehu Abdullahi	Bursaspor
13	FW	Simeon Nwankwo (Simy)	Crotone
14	FW	Kelechi Iheanacho	Leicester City
15	MF	Joel Obi	Torino
16	GK	Daniel Akpeyi	Chippa United
17	MF	Ogenyi Onazi	Trabzonspor
18	FW	Alex Iwobi	Arsenal
19	MF	John Ogu	Hapoel Be'er Sheva
20	DF	Chidozie Awaziem	Nantes
21	DF	Tyronne Ebuehi	ADO Den Haag
22	DF	Kenneth Omeruo	Kasımpaşa
23	GK	Francis Uzoho	Deportivo La Coruña

John Obi Mikel, then at Tianjin TEDA in China, wore the armband. Only two players came from African clubs, both goalkeepers: Ikechukwu Ezenwa of Enyimba and Daniel Akpeyi of Chippa United. Not one outfield player was based in the NPFL.

The spine came from Europe. Leon Balogun and William Troost-Ekong paired at centre-back, Wilfred Ndidi and Oghenekaro Etebo sat in midfield, and the attack leaned on Ahmed Musa, Victor Moses, Alex Iwobi, Kelechi Iheanacho and Odion Ighalo, then playing in China with Changchun Yatai. Simeon Nwankwo, known as Simy, had two caps when the squad was named.

Group D: beaten by Croatia, Iceland swept aside, Argentina by four minutes

The first game, in Kaliningrad, went badly. An own goal by Oghenekaro Etebo and a Luka Modrić penalty, after William Troost-Ekong wrestled Mario Mandžukić at a corner, left Nigeria with nothing. Rohr's side barely threatened Danijel Subašić.

Rohr switched to a back three for Iceland in Volgograd. Ahmed Musa scored both goals after half-time, the first a volley after controlling Victor Moses' cross, the second after rounding goalkeeper Hannes Halldórsson. Iceland's Gylfi Sigurðsson missed a penalty late on. Musa became the first Nigerian to score four World Cup goals, after his double against Argentina in 2014.

In St Petersburg, Lionel Messi put Argentina ahead, Victor Moses levelled from the spot early in the second half, and for about half an hour Nigeria were heading to the last 16. Then Rojo, a centre-back, volleyed in Gabriel Mercado's cross. Nigeria finished third in Group D, one point behind Argentina.

This squad was better than its exit. Ndidi, Etebo and Iwobi were all 22 or younger, and Uzoho was a teenager. Nigeria then missed the 2022 World Cup, which makes 2018 look less like a false dawn and more like a chance that was not built on.

This article was most recently revised and updated 26 seconds ago