GOLDEN EAGLETS CONQUERED THE WORLD

Nigeria Golden Eaglets became the most successful team in FIFA U-17
World Cup history with a 3-0 win over holders Mexico at the Mohammad
Bin Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi.
The final was a rematch of the 6-1 win Nigeria inflicted on the
Mexicans in Group F play and sees the...
Golden Eaglets lay hands on the
junior world trophy for the fourth time in their history, one better
than South American giants Brazil. When the final whistle went in the
UAE capital, fans and players alike rejoiced, fingers pointed to the
sky, with what has become the traditional Nigerian celebration of:
"yes, yes yes!"
Mexico kept the ball for a full two minutes at the start of the game,
moving it around well and making the Nigerians chase. El Tri even
managed the first chance on goal after six minutes. Osvaldo Rodriguez
crossed from the left, but Alejandro Diaz couldn't keep his
close-range effort the right side of the post. Two minutes on and Ivan
Ochoa – who scored twice in the semi-final win over Argentina – saw
his off-balance header pushed over the bar by Dele Alampasu.
The corner came to nothing for the Mexicans, but Nigeria benefitted
greatly by bursting out on a classic counter-attack. Kelechi Iheanacho
went flying up the pitch. With just one Mexican defender in position,
the No10 Golden Eaglet laid the ball in for Taiwo Awoniyi who then fed
it on to Musa Yahaha, who had a little help from Erick Aguirre. The
Mexican midfielder mistakenly hit the ball into his own net in an
attempt to recover.
With the score 1-0, Musa Muhammed was giving the Mexicans fits with
his rampaging runs up the right side. He pinned the opponents back at
every opportunity. As the first half pushed toward the interval, the
Africans upped their tempo in search of a second goal. Yahaya rattled
the crossbar with a stunning effort from 20 yards out after 38
minutes. Pressure was mounting and the fans in the stands were on
their feet when Awoniyi's bicycle-kick from the penalty spot forced
Raul Gudino into a magnificent reaction save in the dying moments of
the half.
The second period began with a frenzy of attacks at both ends of the
pitch, but it was Nigeria who made theirs count, making it 2-0 in the
56th minute. Captain Muhammed unleashed a wicked swirling shot that
Mexican keeper Gudino simply couldn't hang on to. He spilled a rebound
directly to the feet of the most dangerous man on the pitch, and
Iheanacho made no mistake dispatching his sixth goal of the
tournament.
With a quarter-hour to go, Mexico managed to carve out a rare
second-half chance, but Ochoa's header from close-range slipped wide
of the post as the holders began to wilt under the ceaseless pressure
of the buzzing Nigerians. Muhammed added a third with ten minutes to
go, curling a sublime free-kick into the top corner.
Anyone in UAE who had the pleasure to see them will tell you that this
Nigerian team were the best on offer. Even a few of the Mexican fans
were mumbling "yes, yes, yes" when the final whistle went on Nigeria's
glorious campaign here in UAE.

Culled: Vanguard.