Russia
Nigerian fans say the winning spirit was missing and it is a lesson for Nigeria ahead of their two remaining games in their World Cup group, following their team 2-0 loss to Croatia in Kaliningrad on Saturday.
Croatia beat Nigeria on Saturday with an own goal from Oghenekaro Etebo and a penalty from Luka Modric to go top of Group D, one of the toughest and most unpredictable in the tournament.
“There’s one positive from today, the biggest winner is football”, a Nigerian fan said.
Another fan thinks ‘‘it is a lesson and the winning spirit wasn’t there, sadly. It puts us in a very tough situation now. The next two matches is going to be pretty difficult. Fingers crossed. Never say never.”
While dominating for long periods, Croatia struggled to penetrate the Nigerian defence and failed repeatedly to find the target with speculative shots from well outside the penalty area.
“Excellent. I think we played a tactical game to win; we didn’t play game to destroy Nigeria, we just played tactical game. We changed the players, we had a few changes, but the aim is just to go to the next round and to win the championship”, a Croatian fan said.
Afterwards, outside the Kaliningrad Stadium Croatia fans were jubilant – singing and dancing – as the result puts them in pole position after Argentina were unexpectedly held to a 1-1 draw by Iceland.
Nigeria will face Iceland next in Volgograd, while Croatia take on Argentina.
Reuters
Go to video
Nigeria snubbed at White House summit, opposition blames Tinubu
01:06
Brazil launches major security operation ahead of BRICS Summit
01:30
Nigerian singer Tems launches Leading Vibe Initiative to support women in music
00:52
Nigeria’s Peter Obi to contest 2027 election, opposition coalition in jeopardy
11:15
AI drones lead breakthrough against malaria in Africa [Business Africa]
01:13
17 soldiers killed as gunmen raid army bases in northern Nigeria