In 1994, the Nigerian soccer team, the Super Eagles, had a super year. They participated in the World Cup—the elite competition of soccer—and made it into the round of 16. Unless you are a fan of international soccer, it’s difficult to appreciate what a big deal that is.

The World Cup takes place every four years. To make it to the World Cup at all is a huge accomplishment. It starts out with 32 teams representing 32 nations. It is divided into two stages: group and knockout. For the group stage, the top two teams in each group move on to the round of 16. The competition then narrows down to the quarter finals, the semifinals, and the finals.

For a nation like Nigeria to make it to the World Cup and do well enough to advance into the round of 16 was a grand accomplishment.

That was not the only 1994 triumph for the Nigerian team. Earlier that year they won the African Cup of Nations in Tunisia.

As you can imagine, the Super Eagles were excited in 1996. They planned to return to the African Cup of Nations and win it again. And six months later, they were also going to participate in the Summer Olympics, hosted by the United States.

The team’s hopes, however, were dashed. In 1996, Nigeria was under control of a brutal military government. Its leader, General Sani Abacha, ordered the Super Eagles to withdraw from the African Cup of Nations, which was to be held in South Africa.

As for the Olympics, the team would be allowed to participate, but got almost zero help from the government. As they prepared, the team lacked equipment, medical facilities, transportation, and proper food. One player said, “We were just like abandoned children.”

When the Super Eagles arrived at the Olympics, they were determined to do their best, despite any disadvantages.

The Olympics starts out with 16 teams divided into four groups. The top-ranked teams are placed in different groups, so the best of the best don’t play each other too early. Nigeria was in Group D, which included Brazil, Japan, and Hungary. Brazil was considered the best team overall and expected to win the gold medal.

Nigeria lost to Brazil, but did well enough to advance out of the group. For the Super Eagles, this was a wonderful achievement.

In the quarter-finals, which is a knock-out stage (win or go home), Brazil beat Ghana, Argentina beat Spain, and Portugal squeaked past France.

Nigeria? They beat Mexico 2 to 0.

In the semi-finals, Nigeria again faced Brazil, which was so confident it could beat the Super Eagles, it rested several of its top players. Brazil did this so its players would be fresh when it played Argentina for the gold medal. Imagine Brazil’s shock when Nigeria beat them 4 to 3.

In the bronze medal match, Brazil beat Portugal 5 to 0.

And Nigeria? They did the unthinkable, beating Argentina 3 to 2 and winning the gold medal.

Both the Nigeria-Brazil and the Nigeria-Argentina matches can be found on YouTube.