May 21, (THEWILL) – Nigeria’s Flying Eagles kicked off their pursuit of a maiden FIFA Under-20 World Cup triumph in Argentina, with a 2-1 victory over newcomers Dominican Republic at the Estadio Malvinas Argentinas in Mendoza.
The Flying Eagles, who finished as runners-up in 1989 and 2005, are making their 13th appearance in the U-20 World Cup. Early in the game, Nigeria had a penalty appeal turned down when Kleffer Martes seemed to be struck by the ball inside the 18-yard box, causing frustration for the Nigerian team.
Missed chances were too frequent from both sides. Jude Sunday’s 13th-minute shot was deflected, and Muhammed’s subsequent effort from the edge of the box was collected by Dominican goalkeeper, Xavier Valdez. They were awarded a penalty following a VAR review in the 22nd minute, and Edison Azcona converted it.
The Flying Eagles persisted in attack and levelled the score in the 30th minute with a looping header from right back, Guillermo Ronaldo Peña, turning in an own-goal. In the second half, Sunday continued to pester the Dominicans before Nigeria took the lead in the 70th minute. Samson Lawal capitalised on a poor back pass and calmly slotted the ball past the Dominican goalkeeper.
The game ended with an impressive save from Nigerian goalkeeper, Chijioke Aniagboso, denying the Dominican Republic’s playmaker a goal from distance.
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
