*The Super Eagles’ only previous competitive encounter with Spain ended in a 3-2 victory in the group stage of the 1998 World Cup.
*That defeat proved costly for the Spanish, who failed to progress to the knock-out stage despite winning their final match, against Bulgaria, 6-1.
*Nigeria beat Spain on penalties to win the FIFA Under-17 World Cup final in 2007. Jordi Alba was in the Spanish squad for that tournament, although he did not play in the final.
*The Super Eagles have not beaten European opposition since a 1-0 win in France in a friendly in November 2009. Joseph Akpala got the winner.
*Defeat to Uruguay ended Nigeria’s 18-match unbeaten run, which had spanned 13 months.
*It was also their first loss in Confederations Cup history; they also competed at the 1995 tournament and went home unbeaten, although they lost a third-place play-off to Mexico on penalties.
*Nigeria have only won two of their last six international fixtures (W2, D3, L1). However, the 2-1 defeat to Uruguay on Thursday ended a 19-match unbeaten run.
*John Obi Mikel made his 50th appearance for Nigeria in the defeat against Uruguay, crowning the landmark with a goal.
*Spain’s 10-0 victory against Tahiti is the biggest ever winning margin by a men’s senior team at a Fifa tournament. The only other side to net 10 was Hungary, who beat El Salvador 10-1 at the 1982 World Cup.
*Fernando Torres is the second Spaniard to score four goals in a single match at a major international tournament. The first was Emilio Butragueno, in a 5-1 victory against Denmark at the 1986 World Cup.
*Torres and David Villa both netted at least three goals against Tahiti. The last time two Spaniards netted hat-tricks in the same game was in an 8-0 win against Cyprus in 1999, when Ismael Urzaiz and Julen Guerrero bagged three apiece.
*Spain are on a five-game winning run and are unbeaten in their last 24 matches.
*La Roja last faced African opponents in the previous edition of the Confederations Cup in 2009. They beat host nation South Africa 3-2 in the third-place play-off.
*Only a defeat by four goals or more against Nigeria would put Spain at risk of elimination from the tournament.
