The Dammam Miracle, also popular to many as the Miracle of Dammam, is the title tagged the outcome of the 1989 FIFA World Youth Championship quarter-final football match between Nigeria and the former Union of Soviet Socialist Republic (USSR) which was played on February 25, 1989.
The tournament which was hosted in Saudi Arabia and saw the USSR U-20 team race to a four-goal lead within 46 minutes of the encounter held at the Prince Mohammed Bin Fahd Stadium in Dammam, Saudi Arabia. A brace from Sergei Kiriakov in the 30th and 58th minutes of the tie, and goals from Bakhva Tedeey, and Oleg Salenko put the now disintegrated Eastern European Republic ahead with about 10,000 spectators watching.
However, the Nigerian team did not give up and kept fighting. Two thunderous strikes from Christopher Ohenhen started the revival for the Nigerian team with the first coming from a free kick in the 61st minute and the second from a long range shot in the 75th minute as fans kept their eyes glued to their black-and-white television sets with all hope almost lost. With the spirit of the junior Nigerian team high, Samuel Elijah and team captain Nduka Ugbade completed the remarkable comeback with goals in the 83rd and 84th minutes. Nigeria went on to win the game on penalties (Nigeria 5 vs 3 USSR), causing fans to jubilate on the streets.
The high-spirited display of the U-20 team created a football record as Nigeria became the first nation to bounce back from a four-goal deficit at a FIFA match, and go on to win it!
Watch the highlights of the match:
Sources:
Wikipedia
Vanguard NG
Youtube
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