All is set for the 2019 FIFA Under 17 World Cup with Nigeria’s Golden Eaglets going into the tournament as one of the tournament’s favourites especially owing to the fact that Nigeria holds the record for the highest number of U17 World Cup trophies with a total of 5 trophies.
The Eaglets go into the tournament which will be hosted in Brazil from October 26- 17th November 2019 with a rich successful history but it is pertinent to note that emerging five-time champions was no easy achievement. The 2007 edition of the tournament is a great example of how hard Nigeria’s representatives at the global competition fought to put joy on the faces of Nigerians.
After emerging champions in the 1993 edition of the FIFA U-17 World Cup, Nigeria would have to wait for over two decades to bring back home the coveted trophy. The Golden Eaglets, to the surprise of many, defeated the German U17 team touted as favourites for the trophy in the semi-final to set up a final match encounter against the Spanish U17 team on September 9, 2007 in Seoul, South Korea. The game would go into extra time as the tough encounter saw both sides fail to find the back of the net in 90 minutes. Nigeria and Spain combined, made over 30 attempts to find the back of the net but penalties would prove to be the decider for the encounter.
The heroics of the Nigerian shot-stopper, Dele Ajiboye, saw the Eaglets emerge victorious during penalty shootouts as he saved two penalties while the trio of Matthew Edile, Daniel Joshua, and Ganiyu Oseni converted their spot kicks to make it 3-0. The tournament finally saw Nigeria claim their third U17 World Cup trophy after a long wait.
Source:
Reuters
Featured Image Source: PM News NG
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