THEY FACE JAPAN in their Rio 2016 opener on Thursday night local time but the Nigerian football team aren’t even in Brazil yet.
According to the BBC, the squad are stranded in Atlanta because the airline supposedly flying them to South America hasn’t been paid yet.
Such payment is usually handled by the country’s sports ministry but the ‘logistical mix-up’ has now severely affected Nigeria’s preparations.
The team have been drawn in Group B and will also face Sweden and Colombia.
Nigeria have good pedigree when it comes to the tournament.
They won the gold medal 20 years in, ironically enough, the same American city where they’ve been left stranded.
In 2008, they finished as runners-up to an Argentina side that featured the likes of Lionel Messi, Sergio Aguero, Angel di Maria and Juan Roman Riquelme.
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