August 24, 2008	Sunday	Sha'aban 21, 1429

BEIJING, Aug 23: Argentina and Nigeria, two of the most entertaining teams in the Olympic Games soccer tournament, played out a lifeless gold medal match on Saturday as temperatures on the Bird’s Nest pitch soared to 42 Celsius.

Both coaches said their teams were affected by the searing heat in a match which kicked off at midday in Beijing’s notoriously sapping summer.

The match, which Argentina won 1-0, was stopped for water breaks in the 30th and 70th minutes, a decision soccer’s governing body FIFA said had been taken beforehand in agreement with team doctors.

A FIFA official said temperatures reached 32 Celsius (89 Fahrenheit) in the shade and were another 10 Celsius higher on the field.

The game, between two sides who won their semi-finals by three-goal margins, was a huge disappointment, played mostly at walking pace.

The only surprise was that Nigeria managed to play 30 minutes of sustained attacking football after falling behind to Angel Di Maria’s goal.

“I think it actually affected both countries,” Nigeria coach Samson Siasia told reporters. “Most players didn’t perform to their best level because of the heat.

“We don’t make the rules. They said we had to play the game at 12 o’clock, which I didn’t think was a very good idea.”

His opposite number Sergio Batista said his team had to adapt their style to cope with the conditions.

“I don’t want to comment on the organisation,” he said.

“Of course, it was not the same spectacle as it would have been [with an evening kick off], today it was very hot and the players felt it.—Reuters