FRANCE 98 – General Media News Template

It was a “show of shame” Friday night in Amsterdam when the Nigerian side, the Super Eagles, crashed out of a friendly encounter with the Orange Gang of Holland by a whopping 5-1 defeat.

The international friendly organised as part of a build-up to France ‘98, was the second humiliating defeat in eight days, coming only a week to the start of the World Cup.

The Eagles were walloped 3-0 by Yugoslavia last week. Earlier, the Nigerian side had been humbled 4-0 by Grasshoppers, a Swiss first division side, and 1-0 by Germany.

In all, the Eagles have conceded 13 goals since their camping exercise began in Switzerland.

An independent newspaper, the Weekend Concord, described the defeat as a “national calamity” and asked the team’s handlers to go back to the drawing board.

“If Nigeria had played Brazil, we would have known our weaknesses,” the paper quoted an apparently unamed angry editor as saying. The Weekend Vanguard on its part, blamed coach Bora Milutinovic for the defeat. “It is now clear that Bora has no magic to pull out of his hat for Nigeria. With the World Cup only four days away, the Super Eagles looked like a team incapable of achieving anything in France. It is a fearful prospect,” it added.