Soccer: Nigerian coach sacked

Nigeria fired coach Shaibu Amodu yesterday 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.

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

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