Amuneke hails Eaglets 5-1 win over Chile

In from Nifemi Daniel . . .

Golden Eaglets coach, Emmanuel Amuneke, has praised his players for their heroic feat after defeating Chile 5-1 early Wednesday morning.

Nigeria continued their impressive start to their FIFA U-17 World Cup title defence by completing a comprehensive 5-1 victory over hosts Chile and progressing to the knockout stages in the process. A goal within 30 seconds by star man Samuel Chukwueze set the tone for a straightforward win, with the diminutive No8 grabbing a second in the second half after he had earlier been fouled for Kelechi Nwakali’s to score from the spot, and before he was felled for Victor Osimhen’s successful spot kick conversion.

Chile grabbed a consolation, before Funsho Bamgboye saw his marching orders, with Osimhen’s late header adding some gloss to the win, despite Nwakali missing his second penalty of the match after Chukwueze had been fouled in the penalty area for a third time.

Read also: U-17 World Cup: Eaglets beat USA 2-0

“It is true we were effective up front, but we also knew how to block their passing game, forcing them to play uncomfortably in the midfield. My players understood the transition game, that is when to attack, when to defend.

“We also prepared them mentally, it is not easy to play against the host. Chile has a good team, but today they lost against the best team. I believe they can qualify for the next round,” Amuneke told FIFA.com

Chile coach, Miguel Ponce, while praising the Eaglets said his players didn’t take their chances.

“I told the kids: Nigeria respected us more than the result shows. They took measures to avoid us playing quickly, they knew to wait for us and scored after patient plays, they did not keep us in our goal for the whole game. It is true there were physical differences, especially when it came to speed, but it is also true we were not able to finish off the situations we created. Against a good team, they don’t forgive you,”

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