Nigeria defender Taribo West (picture) and striker Finidi George said they are retiring from international soccer after Nigeria's first round elimination from the World Cup finals, a national newspaper reported yesterday.

"Going out at this stage has hurt me so deeply so I have now decided to retire from international football," said West who did not play in Nigeria's 0-0 draw against England in their last Group F match, according to This Day newspaper.

Nigeria failed to survive the World Cup finals' so-called Group of Death after a 1-0 defeat by pre-tournament favourites Argentina in the opening match and a 2-1 loss to Sweden in their second game.

Ipswich forward George, left out of the Nigeria squad for the World Cup along with former captain Sunday Oliseh and winger Tijani Babangida, blamed the team's early exit on inexperience and said he was also quitting.

"I said it before that I would quit international football after the World Cup and I am still standing by my decision though I did not make the team," he said.

Nigeria's World Cup captain Jay Jay Okocha had earlier said he was retiring from the national team after about 10 years, to give younger players a chance to play for the former African champions.

Sign up to our free newsletters

Get the best updates straight to your inbox:
Please select at least one mailing list.

You can unsubscribe at any time by clicking the link in the footer of our emails. We use Mailchimp as our marketing platform. By subscribing, you acknowledge that your information will be transferred to Mailchimp for processing.