Nigeria mourns youth football defeat

Switzerland managed to spoil the party for hosts Nigeria

Switzerland has inflicted a shock 1-0 defeat on hosts Nigeria to win the 2009 Fifa Under-17 World Cup in Abuja.

Nigeria's Golden Eaglets were chasing an unprecedented fourth U-17 world crown in front of a home crowd.

When it was all over, the BBC's Caroline Duffield in Lagos discovered a nation in mourning.

"I am in pain, I am sore, I am suffering," groaned the doorman at an expensive sports bar in Lagos.

Inside, the faces of bar staff were grim.

Nigerians will not enjoy being forced to hand back the trophy they won in the last U-17 World Cup.

State of play

"We were cheated... that disallowed goal was a goal!" cried one customer, Joseph Mbumba.

It's painful, so people will be crying. But we took silver. I am so proud. Mo Ojeh

"But they can be proud. Bringing two different generations of boys in a row to a World Cup Final - not bad. That's hard. Fantastic achievement."

Football is one of the few ways a talented child can escape poverty here.

Many boys seem to have a startling gift for the game.

Football is a serious matter.

"I'm really, really dejected. Utterly sad. It's painful. We were waiting to lift that trophy," said Gbenga Familoni, another customer.

He left the bar, rather than watch to the end.

"It represents the true state of the country at the moment," said Femi Osemwegie, who returned from the US a year ago.

"If they'd passed the ball a little more, we could have got a goal... Here, people don't want to collaborate. Everybody wants to do their own thing.

"That's what I saw on the field tonight... Everybody wanted to shoot the goal."

Cheating scandal

The Golden Eaglets - Nigeria's youth team - have been through intense pressure in the run-up to the competition.

Swiss seal U-17 World Cup victory

Just weeks before kick-off, they were hit by an age-cheating scandal.

There were accusations players had lied about their age - and the authorities were forced to carry out medical checks.

A number were found to be too old, and they were thrown out of the squad.

A different team was scrambled at the last minute.

They produced a string of fiery performances on the pitch - beating Honduras, Argentina, New Zealand, South Korea, and Spain.

In spite of the age-cheating furore, Nigerians have been able to take comfort and pride from the Eaglets as they fought their way through to the final.

"We got silver," Mo Ojeh told me, over her drink.

"It's painful, so people will be crying. But we took silver. I am so proud."

And Nigeria's football fans can take considerable solace from the senior team's last-gasp qualification for next year's World Cup finals in South Africa, which they achieved on Saturday after seeming to be on their way out.