Nigerian soccer team arrives in Brazil less than 7 hours before Olympic opener

After days of frustrating travel delays, the Nigerian Olympic soccer team finally touched down in Brazil Thursday, just under seven hours before the team plays its Olympic opener in Manaus.

The Nigerians had been plagued by a series of mishaps that had kept them stranded in Atlanta just a day before they were set open Olympic play. First, on Wednesday, the country’s sports ministry’s payment to the airline reportedly didn’t go through as scheduled. The team was scheduled to board a plane to Manaus later that night, but upon seeing the aircraft, the Nigerians deemed it too small.

Finally, the team successfully boarded an eight-hour flight to the Brazilian city at around 7 a.m. Thursday morning and arrived as scheduled.

The Nigerians will kick off against Japan at 9 p.m. EST in Manaus.