Sports
Super Eagles handed defeat in final World Cup rehearsal
The Super Eagles of Nigeria were handed a second straight defeat on their road to the 2018 FIFA World Cup, with a 1-0 defeat to Czech Republic in Austria on Wednesday – four days after a 2-1 loss to England at Wembley.
A 25th-minute goal by Kalas Tomas gave Czech the victory at the Rudolph Tonn Stadium, in Rannersdorf in Austria.
Kalas slammed in a rebound after goalkeeper Francis Uzoho had saved an initial header from a cross. The Eagles pushed for an equaliser afterwards but could not find the back of the net throughout the game.
It was the final warm-up game for the Super Eagles, as the team prepare to make their sixth appearance at the World Cup beginning from June 16 when they kick off their campaign.
Czech, who did not qualify for the 2018 World Cup, had been beaten 4-0 only five days ago by another World Cup-bound nation, Australia.
Read Also: Ndidi returns as Super Eagles file out against Czech Republic
Nigeria’s World Cup preparations have not been as impressive as expected by home fans, having had a commendable qualifying campaign that featured brilliant displays from the team against African giants Cameroon, Zambia and Algeria in the same group.
The team went on to beat two-time World Champions Argentina 4-2 in a friendly in November last year before edging past Poland 1-0 in another friendly in March.
But after losing 2-0 to Serbia later in March, the Eagles have failed to win all other pre-World Cup warm-ups, as they drew 1-1 with DR Congo in Port Harcourt, lost 2-1 to England in London before losing 1-0 to Czech Republic only 8 days before the World Cup begins.
A win in the game against Czech Republic would have set the Super Eagles in great psychological tune for the World Cup, but there appears to be more work to do in the team with a very little time left.
The Eagles will kick off their campaign against Croatia on June 16, before facing Iceland and Argentina on June 22 and 26 respectively in the group stage of the tournament.
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