Yekini, Amuneke Ignored As Nigerian Superstar Ranked 3rd Best Player at 1994 World Cup in USA

• Finidi George was one of the revelations of the 1994 FIFA World Cup, and he has been ranked as such
• The former Nigerian international has been rated the third-best player of the prestigious tournament
• Statistics companies have named Romanian great Gheorghe Hagi and Swedish icon Kennet Anders as the top two players of that tournament

Former Nigerian international Finidi George was ranked the third-best player at the 1994 FIFA World Cup in the United States.

Statistics companies Sofascore and Opta rated the former Ajax midfielder as one of the best, during Nigeria’s maiden appearance at the global showpiece.

Nigeria stunned the world during the tournament group stage, defeating Bulgaria and Greece to reach the second round, where they were beaten by eventual runners-up Italy.

Going into the competition, Clemens Westerhof’s side arrived in America as the reigning AFCON champions, having won the continental title in Tunisia earlier that year.

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They went on to top the group with Argentina, Bulgaria and Greece, and Finidi’s exploits earned him a rating of 7.88 - the third-best at the tournament.

Only Romanian great Gheorghe Hagi (8.00) and Swedish icon Kennet Andersson (7.89) were rated higher than Finidi at USA ’94.

French ace Florin Raducioiu (7.88) and legendary Brazilian captain Dunga (7.84) completed the top five, as per Soccernet.

Finidi disappointed at Pepe

Meanwhile, a clip which has since gone viral on social media shows the moment assistant Super Eagles coach Finidi George looked sad, after Real Madrid legend Pepe handed Moses Simon his shirt.

Pepe, who currently plays for FC Porto, was in action for 90 minutes as Portugal thrashed Nigeria 4-0 in an international friendly.

After the game, players from both teams exchanged pleasantries. Assistant coach George was disappointed when he asked Pepe for his shirt, as the FC Porto star handed it to winger Simon.

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Pinnick blamed for Nigeria debacle

Sports Brief earlier reported that former Super Eagles coach Gernot Rohr has lashed out at the ex-Nigeria Football Federation president Amaju Pinnick, over Nigeria's failure to qualify for the World Cup in Qatar.

Rohr had led the team to the final round of the World Cup qualifiers, but the Franco-German tactician was fired on the eve of the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations.

Rohr has been left embittered at the situation, with the tactician once again maintaining that Pinnick caused the World Cup debacle for Nigeria.