Spanish spirits soar despite defeat

Despite tales of late night carousing by English and Norwegian players before and during the World Cup, Clemente has decided he can trust his players not to overdo it. But Abrizu said the players would not be allowed to get their hands on the Orujo. Spanish team doctor Gonzalez Ruano acknowledged that the wine cellar was more than sufficient to last until the final.

However, after Spain’s shock 3-2 loss to Nigeria on Saturday, raising a few glasses to toast success may be less likely than the Spanish players drowning their sorrows. Abrizu said he wished that the provisions had arrived earlier. "With these groceries, we would not have lost toNigeria."

Rice feast for Nigerians

Nigeria will be fired up on spicy Thai curry when they clash with Bulgaria at the World Cup finals in France on June 19, a senior Thai foreign ministry official has said.

The Thai Embassy in Paris has been ordered to provide 30 servings of "Khao Kang", a fiery meat curry poured over steamed rice, to Nigerian players before the match, foreign ministry spokesman Kobsak told a press conference yesterday.

Nigerians were major fans of Thai rice, importing some 500,000 tonnes of the grain from Thailand in 1997, Kobsak said, adding the African team has yet to be informed of their mouth-watering gift.

The Embassy would contact the Nigerian coach and offer to deliver the meals to the footballers prior to the match in Paris.

Since Nigeria’s 3-2 victory over Spain last Saturday, Thai newspapers have been trumpeting the fact that Nigerians consume a lot of Thai rice.