TheCable

Golden Eaglets of Nigeria on Tuesday maintained their brilliant start at the ongoing 2019 FIFA U17 World Cup in Brazil, beating Ecuador 3-2 to reach the round of 16.

Ibrahim Sa’id’s hat-trick ensured that Nigeria became the first nation to secure a spot in the round of 16 after the Eaglets 4-2 win over Hungary on Sunday night.

Sa’id put Nigeria in front after only five minutes after the opponent’s goalkeeper Lopez made a mistake while attempting to pass the ball to his defender.  Sa’id intercepted and slotted past Lopez from outside the box.

It was the Sai'd Ibrahim night. What. A. Game. Weldone, Golden Eaglets. Unto the next round 💪. Nigeria 3-2 Ecuador. #SoarGoldenEaglets #Team9jaStrong #NGAECU #U17WC pic.twitter.com/T5tiyiRguk

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— The NFF 🇳🇬 (@thenff) October 29, 2019

The lively and tactically–disciplined South Americans were level five minutes later, as Mejia turned Ferdinand Ikenna from just outside the box and pulled the trigger. The ball grazed the upright and then went into the net off the back of goalkeeper Daniel Jinadu.

The Eaglets showed enthusiasm and pace, but were easily checkmated by the strong and highly coordinated Ecuadorians.

Two minutes to the end of the first period, substitute Akinkunmi Amoo found Sa’id in the box, but the latter could not get the decisive touch needed to pull Nigeria level before the break.

Nine minutes into the second half, Ecuador were awarded a penalty by the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) as Charles Etim had a slight contact with an advancing Ecuadorian attacker in a melee.

Johan Mina sent Jinadu the wrong way to put the South Americans in the lead in the 54th minute.

The Eaglets pushed, searched and frisked with determination, just as they did against Hungary in their first match in which they scored three goals in six minutes to beat the previous opponents.

Short and stray passes in the opposition’s critical zone, anxiety and wayward shooting did not help the Eaglets’ search for goals as time wore on.

However, substitutes Ibraheem Jabaar and Amoo had come close and captain Samson Tijani had fired over the bar before Sa’id drew Nigerian level in the 84th minute with a sweet, angled drive after receiving a pass from Jabaar.

Five minutes later, it was Sa’id again, blasting past Lopez from inside the box from a determined team move.

With the victory, the Eaglets will now wait to know their opponents in the round of 16, even as they travel to Brasilia for their last Group B game against Australia on Friday night.

The hat trick hero said the fear of losing and heading back to Nigeria spurred the team on to go all out for a win.

“We discussed among ourselves that losing means we will go back to Nigeria that was why we played with everything in us to win the match,” he said.

“I feel happy to have scored this hat trick. It is not just my effort alone but with the help of my team mates.

“Nigeria should keep praying for us so that we can continue to win our games. By the grace of God our next match, we will win. We do not want to lose any match.

“We want to bring the cup back to Nigeria, In Shaa Allah.”