Romania 3 - 0 Nigeria

Romania 3-0 Nigeria: Travels tell story

Updated: November 16, 2005, 10:15 PM UK

BUCHAREST, Nov 16 (Reuters) - Romania, despite missing striker Adrian Mutu and defender Cristian Chivu, beat travel-weary Nigeria 3-0 in a friendly on Wednesday.

Daniel Nicolae opened the scoring 15 minutes into the match, substitute Florentin Petre added the second three minutes after the break and Laurentiu Rosu sealed the win in injury time.

Romania dominated throughout after the kickoff was put back by an hour and 20 minutes with the Nigerian squad having landed in Bucharest just four hours before the scheduled start.

Both Romania and Nigeria failed to qualify for the 2006 World Cup finals in Germany.

Roma's Chivu joined Juventus's Mutu on the sidelines after he stopped training on Tuesday because of pain in his adductor muscle. Both players have since returned to Italy.