Nigeria U17 thrash Mali 2-0 in Final

Nigerian Striker Osinachi Ebere missed a penalty in the first few minutes of the first half. The Malian team was rock solid at the back and thwarted Nigeria's attack with relative ease. The Eaglets could not score a single goal in the first half not because of lack of attempts but because of the defensive stability of the
Malians. Half time score was therefore 0-0.

The second half was a different ball game entirely, the Eaglets huffed and puffed with the result being that Victor Osimhen (The General) scored his 10th goal of the Tournament. He did it with style, elegance, composure and determined accuracy. This goal made many Nigerians to shout in the night which made me know that many people actually stayed up late to watch the final. By Victor scoring his tenth goal, he broke the World cup U17 record of nine goals scored by Florent Sinama Pongolle in 2001 and Souleymane Coulibaly ten years later in thesame competition.

In the 59th minute, Funsho Bamgboye sealed the game with a second goal. Funsho received the ball in the left hand of the Malians 18 yard box and evading his marker shot into the net thereby giving goalkeeper Samuel Diarra no chance of stopping the goal. From then on it was celebration all the way. Towards the closing stages of the match, the Malians gave it their all, they tried everything possible to see that they at least score a goal but it did not happen. At least they went home with their heads held high, afterall it is AFRICA that won !

With this 2-0 win over Mali, The Nigerian Golden Eaglets have won the FIFA U-17 World Cup trophy for a record fifth-time  they won it in 1985, 1993, 2007, 2013 and 2015. The Eaglets also became the second country to successfully defend their U17 title (Back to Back) after Brazil. If Mali had won, that would have been their first ever World cup trophy for their country.

Our earnest prayer is that these boys do not allow Fame, Money, Pride and Women to enter their heads. tThey should rather bend down and work hard to get to the top. Messi and Mikel were rated a s the best talents of a tournament, years later Messi went on to win 4 "World Best Footballer" while Mikel is still struggling to be in Chelsea's first 11 players. The parents and club managers should please take note.

Other highlights after the match were the giving of individual awards. The following stars were honoured.

Adidas Golden Ball
1. Kelechi Nwakali (Nigeria)
2. Victor Osimhen (Nigeria)
3. Ahly Malle (Mali)

Adidas Golden Boot
1. Victor Osimhen (Nigeria)
2. Johannes Eggestein (Germany)
3. Kelechi Nwakali (Nigeria)

Adidas Golden Glove
Samuel Diarra (Mali)

Fair Play Award
Ecuador

You can watch the HIGH LIGHTS of the match by clicking  HERE

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