23 August 2008 - Argentina Finds A Way To Beat The Heat

On 23 August 2008, Argentina won their second straight Olympic gold, beating Nigeria 1-0 with a goal from Ángel di María.

The two teams met previously in the 1996 gold medal game, won by Nigeria 3-2 with a 90th-minute strike from Emmanuel Amuneke. Argentina failed to qualify for the tournament in 2000, but went on to win it in 2004 over CONMEBOL rivals Paraguay.

Defending their title in 2008, they got off to a perfect start by winning all three of their group stage matches, then advancing over the Netherlands and Brazil in the knockout rounds to reach the final. Nigeria, meanwhile, also topped their group and made it into the final with wins over Ivory Coast and Belgium.

They played the final at noon at the National Stadium in Beijing, where the temperatures reached 107° F/42° C. The heat was so oppressive that officials twice stopped the match so that the players could rehydrate. The Nigerians tightly marked strikers Lionel Messi and Sergio Agüero, but that allowed enough space for di María to exploit for the go-ahead goal in the 58th minute—he chipped the Nigerian keeper after receiving the ball from Messi.

It was only his second goal of the tournament, but it was the only one of the match as Argentina won 1-0.

16 March 1978 - The Eagles Of Carthage Get Grounded

On 16 March 1978, Nigeria took third place in the African Cup of Nations by default after their opponents, Tunisia, walked off in the first half.

Neither side had been particularly impressive in the tournament. They both finishing as runners-up in their respective groups with identical records of one win and two draws, then both lost in the first knockout round. But that was enough to send them into the third-place match, played at the Sports Stadium in Accra, Ghana.

There, Tunisia (nicknamed the Eagles of Carthage) took an early lead with a 19th-minute goal from forward Mohamed Akid (pictured). They held the lead until the 42nd minute when the referee awarded a goal to Nigeria's Baba Otu Mohammed. The Tunisians protested the decision and, when the referee refused to change his mind, they walked off the pitch in protest.

When they refused to return, the match was declared a forfeit and recorded as a 2-0 win for Nigeria. The Confederation of African Football then banned Tunisia from all CAF competitions for two years.