The Golden Eaglets of Nigeria started their quest for a sixth U-17 trophy when they came from behind twice to beat their European opponents Hungary 4-2 in Goiânia, Brazil.
We bring you the scorecard of the Eaglets and how they fared in the match.
Goalkeeper
Daniel Jinadu
The West Ham of England youth team goal tender was quite composed but his defenders thoroughly exposed him which led to the two goals he conceded which were not his fault.
Rating: (7/10)
Defenders
Timilehin Adeniyi
Adeniyi struggled to provide adequate cover for the defence and will have to work on his primary duties. He, however, scored the Eaglet’s third goal after recovering well.
Rating: (7/10)
Ferdinand Ikenna
Ikenna battled well with Andras Nemeth and was much better than his defensive partners
Rating: (7.5/10)
Usman Ibrahim
Ibrahim had a nightmare evening dealing with the pace of Samuel Major earlier on but grew into the clash as it wore on. And when he had adequately recovered, he made amends by scoring a textbook header to bail out his team.
Rating: (7/10)
Charles Etim
Etim saw little of the ball down his flank and really was expected to have done more. He had a hushed performance which belied his usual high standard.
Rating: (6/10)
Midfielders
Tijani Samson
The captain led by example and had a five-star display as he led the team in a stoic fashion which showed his leadership qualities. He commanded the midfield pretty well and everything seemed to pass through him.
He calmly converted his penalty sending Krisztian Hegyi the wrong way to draw his team level earlier in the first half before thrashing home a brilliant late freekick for his second.
Rating: (8.5/10)
Monsuru Opeyemi
Opeyemi didn’t really stamp his authority in the middle of the park and was substituted for Akinwumi Amoo in the second half.
Rating: (6/10)
Hamzat Ojediran
Ojediran had a lukewarm game but had his moments and blasted a couple of decent shots when in range.
Rating: (6.5/10)
Attackers
Sa’id Mohammed
Mohammed got into some decent positions but his shooting often let him down. He strung together some good coordination with his midfielders and could have had a goal or two and has to improve to have a decent run in Brazil.
Rating: (7/10)
Olakunle Olusegun
Olusegun’s shooting was uncharacteristically wayward though he kept plugging away and keeping the opposition defence on their toes.
Rating: (7/10)
Wisdom Ubani
The most energetic attacker in the team, Ubani drew a foul from Donath Orosz in the box and was a victim of some vicious challenges from the opponents. He troubled Hungary with his running and directness.
(7.5/10)
The Substitutes
Akinwunmi Amoo
Amoo put up some lovely footwork in the final third after coming on. He showed why he is highly rated with the much needed creativity he introduced in the team’s play.
Rating: (7/10)
Ibrahim Jabaar
Jabaar saw his header hooked off the line by Hegyi shortly after replacing Ubani and was an industrious presence up front. (7/10)
Daniel Francis
Francis came on very late and no hardly touched the ball before the blast of the final whistle.
Rating (N/A)
