U-20 FIFA World Cup: Nigeria Humbles Qatar
- Dele-Bashiru, Effiom shine in Poland
Nigeria’s Flying Eagles kicked off their 2019 Under-20 FIFA World Cup campaign with a rampant 4-0 Group D hammering of the hapless Qatar opponents at Tychy Stadium in Poland
The Paul Aigbogun’s boys put up a great attacking display, hitting the four goals in scintillating fashion to brush aside the Qataris.
Maxwell Effiom and Okechukwu Offia struck with first-half goals to open their international accounts at Tychy Stadium, with Tom Dele-Bashiru and Aliu Salawudeen adding two more goals to silence the Young Maroons who were lackluster on the day.
Effiom scored the opener after only 12 minutes of play, and it was the creativity and industry of Ikouwem Utin that tore apart Qatar’s tightly stitched seams.
The impressive Utin drove past his marker before unleashing a shot, which goalkeeper Shebab Mamdouh pushed into the path of Effiom, whose volley flew uninterrupted into the Qataris’ net.
The presence of Muhamed Tijani and Valentine Ozornwa accounted for the vastly improved link-up play by Nigeria following the below-par performance in their 1-2 loss to Saudi Arabia in a recent friendly match.
Captain spectacular Utin provided the assist for Offia to add the second goal that clearly put the game well beyond the Qataris.
Though the Coach Bruno Miguel’s Asian minnows created chances of note, they failed to find the net, loosely giving away possession on several occasions.
In the second half, they were further outplayed as Manchester City’s Dele-Bashiru and Salawudeen’s completed the rout.
The victory now puts the Paul Aigbogun’s side on the driving seat with three points in Group D, ahead of their crunch match with the United States on Monday.
Nigeria off to a winning start at #U20WC pic.twitter.com — Goal Nigeria (@GoalcomNigeria)
