Nigeria’s Special Eagles headed into their second game of the Amputee Football World Cup against Russia with a tale of lamentations, after they lost 6-0 to Brazil in their first match.
Sports247.ng reports that, heading into the second match on Tuesday in Mexico, an official of the team, Stefan Lovgren disclosed that the Special Eagles were facing several challenges.
Lovgren said late arrival at the venue, which led to fatigue and anxiety on the part of the players, was compounded by a red card to one of them in their first match on Monday.
The team, who missed the last three editions of the competition due to lack of finance, are making their debut at the tournament, after getting donations from various personalities and sources earlier this month.
However, Lovgren, an amputee football expert from Sweden, disclosed that the Nigerians lost to a very a good Brazilian side because of several off=-field and technical issues.
He added that the player that was sent off, Kennedy, will be able to play in the game against Russia, the defending champions who beat fellow-group rivals, El Salvador.
Lovgren also affirmed that Abayomi Bamgbopa (aka Starboy) will be able to play on Tuesday, despite suffering an eye injury in Sunday’s game that required a hospital visit, which he said heigthened their first day woes.
He expatiated: “Some of them arrived in the morning of the match, after 60 hours of travel and number of mishaps, including luggage containing shirts, shoes and crutches being lost along the way.
“The game was finely balanced in the first half when we were hit with a sending-off from two yellow cards.
“(It was) 1-0 at half-time (but) turned into a humbling 6-0 score at the end, but we are proud of the effort our guys put in under some very difficult circumstances. Our spirits are back up.”
Team captain, Goodluck Obieze added: “It was a tough match for us against Brazil. We actually set out to win but it wasn’t easy.
“We lost the match due to fatigue. We couldn’t train after our arrival in Mexico because there was only a little time before the match.
“The Brazilians played very well and they have more experienced players, but we are working hard to get better in our second match against Russia.”
