Nigerian coach Jo Bonfrere has had a pop at Arsenal, Kanu, FIFA and anyone else he can lay his hands on - as he tries to excuse their poor showing in their opening Olympic game.

"A team like Nigeria has no chance if FIFA are prepared to let the big clubs get away with flouting the rules," he said after the 3-3 draw with the mighty Honduras.

"Kanu promised us he would play here and that was the case until the very last moment when Arsenal put pressure on him. They put him in a position where it was impossible for him to play for us. The club are selfish and won't even look at the big picture. We were counting on Kanu."

Little brother Kanu went one step further... and blamed God. "It was hard for my brother because he wanted to play for Nigeria, but maybe that's the way God wanted it to be," said 20-year-old Christopher.

Nigeria play Australia in their next game, and need a win to keep alive their hopes of retaining the title.