U-17 World Cup: Eaglets soar into semi-final

In from Nifemi Daniel . . .
Nigeria’s Under 17 team, the Golden Eaglets qualified into the semi-final of the FIFA U-17 World Cup in style after defeating Brazil 3-0 in the first quarter-final match on Sunday.
Leading the pack was Victor Osimhen who scored his eighth goal in the tournament while the duo of Kingsley Michael and Udochukwu Anumudu added the second and third goal respectively.
Brazil had looked bright in the opening stages, either finding Akpan Udoh in fine form in the Nigerian net or hitting their opportunities off target, with Rogerio and Evander two of the culprits.
They were made to rue those missed opportunities when the lethal Osimhen extended his lead at the top of the goalscoring charts. John Lazarus crossed from the Nigerian right and the Nigerian No9 headed in, via a deflection off Eder Militao.

Read also: We won’t underrate Brazil -Nwakali

Moments later, Nigeria doubled their lead, Osimhen instrumental once more. The forward hooked a bouncing ball back over his shoulder, with Michael following in. The ball bounced up off the turf and past Juliano. The Brazilian No1 was deceived by another bounce just four minutes later, as Anumudu hit a left-footed drive from distance. The effort skipped off the turf, and past the stopper, who was visibly unhappy at not keeping the shot out.
The second period saw few clear-cut opportunities, with Funsho Bamgboye and Evander going closest for either side but, in truth, it was a mere procession for the holders to take a step closer to retaining their title.
They will head to Concepcion for Thursday’s semi-final against the winner of tomorrow’s quarter-final between Ecuador and Mexico.

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