Nigeria fires football coach before World Cup

7th February

Nigeria fired coach Shaibu Amodu on Saturday in the wake of the team's disappointing performance in last month's African Cup of Nations, leaving the squad without leadership as the World Cup approaches.

Nigerian Football Federation spokesman Ademola Olajire said Amodu will not lead the team in South Africa in June, but will instead be relegated to leading the country's "B" team.

"We believe the team has come to a key junction to decide whether we want to be viable," Olajire said. "We are looking for someone who will ... drive this process professionally."

The federation said its shortlist of replacements includes Ratomir Dujkovic, Guus Hiddink, Bruno Metsu, Hassan Shehata, Peter Taylor and Louis van Gaal and that the candidates will be interviewed by the end of the month.

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