The Super Eagles on Saturday missed out on a possible $70,000 winning bonus against Croatia, being the total package each of the players would have got officially had they won their World Cup opener in Kaliningrad, Russia.
Aside other princely amounts promised the players by a couple of Nigerian football fans and philanthropists who watched the match live, the Eagles failed to earn the expected largesse, as they lost 2-0 to the Croats.
It meant no show for them from the jackpot as promised by Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) and one of the soccer governing body’s sponsors.
Leading up to the game, the Eagles were promised a whopping sum of $20,000 each from the NFF if the team recorded a win over the Croatians.
Also the Eagles were promised $50,000 for every goal scored by one of the NFF’s biggest sponsors, Aiteo Oil & Energy Limited.
The Eagles looked ordinary before the likes of Ivan Rakitic and Luka Modric and were made to pay for their not so impressive display on the night inside the Kaliningrad Stadium.
The Nigerian team now have a mountain to climb as they face a very organized Icelandic side on Friday, before taking on Argentina on June 26 in their last group game of the tournament.
