OTD in 1996, Nigeria defeated Argentina & won gold medals at Olympics 🇳🇬🥇

On this day in 1996, Super Eagle made football history.

Emmanuel Amuneke's last-minute goal secured a thrilling 3-2 win over Argentina for Nigeria's 'Dream Team', earning them gold medals at the Atlanta Olympics.

The win remains its biggest victory at an international level – one that despite the widespread football fever felt across Nigeria, the country’s teams have never been able to reproduce.

The agonising final against Argentina began with the Nigeria team consigned to the back foot after a Claudio Lopez goal in the third minute and a Hernan Crespo penalty in the 50th. It seemed as though their opponents were racing to an early victory, but goals by Daniel Amokachi and Emmanuel Amuneke in the 74th and 90th minutes turned the tide in favour of the underdogs.

Back in Nigeria, all-night parties took over streets across the country, with bars running out of beer and leaving their generators on till dawn.

Upon their return home, the triumphant players were each given a luxury apartment together with a plot of land in a new development in an undeveloped area of Lagos and a lump sum of 1m naira (£236,000) each