21st May, 2023
By Kazeem Ugbodaga
The Flying Eagles of Nigeria have begun quest to win Under-20 World Cup in bright start as they beat Dominican Republic 2-1 in their first match on Sunday.
Dominican Republic took the lead on 23 minutes at the world cup going on in Argentina from the penalty spot. Edison Azcona kept his cool and scored from the penalty spot.
Two minutes later, Daniel Daga leapt to meet the corner, but fired his header back across goal from close in and it went well wide of the left post.
The Eagles equalised on 31 minutes after an own goal from a Dominican player.
Guillermo de Pena scored an own goal inside his own left post as he attempted to head the ball away from the corner kick.
Sunday Jude, on 38 minutes, received a precise pass and was given time inside the box to send a promising strike towards the top right corner. Xavier Valdez guessed his intention and denied him with a fine save.
The Eagles made it 2-1 on 71 minutes. The ball broke to Samson Lawal after some poor defending, he found himself one-on-one with the goalkeeper and calmly put the ball into the back of the net.
Seven minutes to duration time, Jude received a low pass just outside the box and unleashed a fine strike to the bottom left corner. Xavier Valdez pulled off a reflexive save to block his effort.
One minute into added time, there was a superb touch by Rilwanu Sarki as he received a precise pass inside the box. He found the keeper prepared as he unleashed his shot to the left side of the goal, but the keeper had a great save.
Just before the final whistle, Jude got into a great position in the box after a pass, but sent his shot just wide of the left post.