Nigeria U17 4-2 Hungary U17: Golden Eaglets stage dramatic comeback in World Cup opener
Manu Garba’s boys showed resilience to earn their first win in Brazil with three quick-fire goals in the second half
Nigeria staged a dramatic comeback to defeat Hungary 4-2 in their first Group B fixture at the 2019 Fifa U17 World Cup.
Samson Tijani’s brace and lone efforts from Usman Ibrahim and Oluwatimilehin Adeniyi secured maximum points for the African country at Estadio Olimpico in Goiania on Saturday.
An early goal from Gyorgy Komaromi fired Hungary ahead in third minute after benefitting from a defensive lapse. His lead was however cut short after Wisdom Ubani was brought down in the penalty area.
Captain Tijani stepped up to convert the resulting kick and drew both teams level in the 23rd minute.
Just after the half hour-mark, Hungary took advantage of another defensive error and Samuel Major put them back ahead.
The Europeans went into the interval with the lead but Manu Garba’s boys resumed the second 45 minutes with more hunger for an equaliser.
Akinkunmi Amoo and Ibraheem Jabaar were thrown into the fray in the 58th and 75th minutes for Monsuru Opeyemi and Ubani respectively, and their introduction boosted Nigeria’s push for a leveller.
The Golden Eaglets finally got a breath of relief after Ibrahim turned in Ibrahim Said’s corner kick into the back of the net with his header in the 79th minute.
Two minutes later, Adeniyi completed the turned around for the West Africans before Tijani put the icing on the cake with his fine free-kick in the 85th minute.
The victory fired Nigeria to the summit of Group B with three points after their opening game. They will be hoping to build on their gallant display when they tackle Ecuador on Tuesday.
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