Leon Balogun has called on his Nigeria team-mates to learn football’s darker arts following their World Cup exit. The Super Eagles exited the tournament last week when losing to Argentina, who themselves crashed out on Saturday.
The 30-year-old defender told BBC Sport: It’s always important when you play internationals to be a bit dirty. That’s what Argentina has, definitely, and you also need to be cold-blooded – that’s probably the most important [lesson from this World Cup].” Despite winning just 22 caps, Balogun is one of the more experienced figures in a Nigeria squad that was the youngest of all the teams in Russia, with an average of 25.
The Super Eagles finished third in Group D after defeats by Croatia and Argentina either side of a 2-0 win over Iceland. The victory kept them in contention until just four minutes from the end of their campaign, when Marcos Rojo’s late strike sunk Nigeria and ended a World Cup that had promised more. BBC
