adminBRASILIA. — Stephen Keshi had just finished repelling yet another query about the Nigeria player bonus payment issue when he wiped his brow, leaned forward and posed a rhetorical question.
“Can I ask if you work with the CIA?” the Nigeria coach said, sparking muffled laughter all around.
When it comes to African teams at the World Cup, the focus on football has sometimes taken a back seat to other distractions in Brazil.
Strike threats. Pay disputes. Bomb blasts back home. Presidential interventions. That’s on top of several unsavoury incidents on the field, with a Cameroon player head-butting his teammate and high-profile Ghana players getting suspended for physical and verbal attacks in training.
Yet somehow, through the turmoil, it has been the best World Cup for Africa teams in a way: for the first time, more than one of the continent’s representatives advanced to the knock-out stage. — AFP.
Online Reporter