Nigeria win U17 World Cup again

Nigeria win U17 World Cup again

Nigeria win U17 World Cup again

Nigeria's Golden Eaglets have emerged
champions of the Fifa Under-17 World Cup in
Chile after defeating Mali 2-0.
The Cup triumph means that the Nigerians have
successfully defended the title they won two
years ago in the UAE.
Two quickfire second half goals from Victor
Osimhen and Funsho Bamgboye ensured that
Emmanuel Amuneke's men cruised to victory as
Nigeria claimed their fifth world title at under-17
level.
The Nigerians should have gone in front in the
fourth minute of the game but Osinachi Ebere's
spot kick was saved by the Malian goalkeeper,
Samuel Diarra, after Chato handled the ball in his
box.
Ebere had a second bite on the cherry to score
from Diarra's save but his header just grazed the
crossbar and bounced back into play before the
Malian goalkeeper then claimed the ball later.
Boubacar Traore then forced Nigeria goalkeeper
Akpan Udoh into making a big save.
The Malians made life a bit difficult for Nigeria
by pressing them very high and that denied the
world champions the chance to express
themselves.
The defending champions were always second
best when it came to the second balls as the
Malians looked quicker in winning the ball in such
battles.
The high-pressing Malians reduced Nigeria with
trying from range as Kelechi Nwakali produced a
screamer but saw it go off target though Diarra
had his goal covered.
Funsho Bamgboye should have given Nigeria the
lead with eight minutes to the break but his
headed attempt was cleared for a corner after
superb work from Samuel Chukwueze.
Just before the break, the tournament leading
scorer Osimhen had his first real attempt at goal
and though the effort of the Nigerian striker
looked to be heading off target, Diarra refused to
be caught unawares as he sprawled on the turf
to turn the ball away to safety.
The Golden Eaglets started the second 45
minutes better as Chukwueze and Osimhen made
Diarra pull off two saves within eight minutes of
the restart.
The champions continued to dominate and it was
Udochukwu Anumudu's turn to have a go at the
Malians.
Nigeria opened score in the 56th minute and it
had to be Osimhen who rifled the ball past Diarra
from Chinedu Madueke's low cross.
The goal was Osimhen's 10th of the tournament
and it meant the 16-year-old forward has set a
new record of scoring the most goals in a single
Fifa Under-17 World Cup edition.

It was a crazy three minutes for the plucky
Malians as Bamgboye's left-footed effort left
Diarra rooted to the spot after the champions
benefited from a gaffe at the back by their
opponents.
With two goals to their good, the Eaglets looked
in command and the gritty Malians were always
going to find it hard clawing their way back.
Udoh in Nigeria's goal had to make three big
saves including an important one with three
minutes to time in order to preserve his team's
two-goal lead.
Amuneke's team held out their two-goal lead in
the three minutes of stoppage time to be
crowned champions for the fifth time in the
history of Fifa Under-17 World Cup.
It is the first time that the Nigerians are winning
the title outside of the Asian continent. Their
previous successes have been in China in 1985,
Japan in 1993, Korea Republic in 2007 and UAE
in 2013.