Estimated read time: Less than a minute
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
LAGOS, Nigeria — Nigeria has put German coach Bruno Labbadia in charge of its men's national soccer team in a bid to get the team's flagging 2026 World Cup qualifying campaign back on track. Nigeria is second from bottom in its qualifying group after failing to win any of its opening four games. The 58-year-old Labbadia has been out of work since April 2023 when he was fired by Stuttgart after failing to arrest its slide to the bottom of the Bundesliga. Labbadia's first two games in charge of Nigeria will be in Africa Cup qualifying against Benin and Rwanda on Sept. 7 and 10.
