Score line: Nigeria 5, Japan 4
Team Line up: Emmanuel DANIEL (GK), Seth MUENFUH, Abdullahi SHEHU,
William TROOST-EKONG, Oghenekaro ETEBO,Imoh EZEKIEL, John Obi
MIKEL(C), Sadiq UMAR, Azubuike OKECHUKWU, Stanley AMUZIE, Usman
MUHAMMED
Scorers: S. Umar 6'
E. Oghenekaro 10', 42', 51', 66'
S. Koroki 9'
T. Minamino 11'
T. Asano 70'
M. Suzuki 90'+5
Nigeria's U23 football team pulled off a remarkable win over Japan in
the football event of the Rio Olympics. The result was remarkable
because of the circumstances that surrounded the team's departure from
Atlanta and arrival in Brazil.
After training and camping in Atlanta, United States for over three
weeks ahead of the tournament, the team was scheduled to leave on
Monday, but with less than 24 hours to the match, they were still in
Atlanta without an iota of certainty that they would be at the
tournament. After their initial flight was delayed, a chartered flight
was arranged, but it turned out that the plane was too small to take
all the players and officials.
Eventually it was Delta Airlines that came in at the last minute to
take the team to Manaus with less than 15 hours to the match. The team
boarded their flight at 8am Eastern Time, in the United States. They
arrived Manaus in Amazon, Brazil at about 2:15pm Eastern time, less
than seven hours to the match.
With the terrible travel arrangement that the team had to endure
arriving few hours before the match, after over six hours flight,
having to deal with jetlag and other inconveniences.
So it was no surprise that the U23 team tired visibly towards the end
of the match. S. Umar and Oghenekaro Etebo were inspiring in the
match. The former Warri Wolves O. Etebo was in its usual elements
arriving late from his midfield position to score four goals. With the
fourth goal the pick of the bunch being a 30 yard shot. He picked up
from where he stopped from the U23 African championships in Senegal
where he was the highest goal scorer when them won that tournament.
Roma's S. Umar was a menacing presence up front for Samson Siasia's
team holding up play and getting an assist with the penalty he won for
the Dream Team.
Samson Siasia's teams have always been known for entertaining
football. They would always score goals, but defensively, his teams
are always suspect. But due to the peculiar circumstances which
surrounded the team's travel arrangement, that they can be forgiven
for some of the defensive lapses that plagued the team in the last
quarter of the match as some of it was due to the tam being leggy.
The team was comfortably 5-2 up with 20 minutes left to play, but
conceded two goals to endure what was a nervy finish.
When taken into context, what the team achieved was nothing short of a
miracle. Physically and mentally the players would be drained after
arriving for the match. That they could pick up themselves to play
they way they did against a very energtic Japanese team is a huge
feat.
The Japanese had been in Brazil for a number of weeks, and they were
settled unlike the Nigerians that were in disarray before the match.
Several pundits have asserted that when a Nigerian team is not under
pressure they then to play well, and well beyond expectation. Few
expected them to even win the match due to the untidy nature of their
late arrival in Brazil, but when a draw would have been a bonus, they
got a win which was more than many bargained for.
With the other group match between Colombia and Sweden ending 2-2, the
Dream Team can secure passage to the quarter finals with a win over
Sweden when they play their second group match on Sunday.
Samson Siasia has a remarkable record and success in managing
Nigeria's youth teams. Coming runners-up with the Flying Eagles in the
2005 U20 World Cup, and winning Silver Medal for the Dream Team in the
Beijing 2008 Olympics footbal team. And at both times, his team lost
to Lionel Messi inspired Argentina.
It remains to be seen how the team goes from the high of this
remarkable win over Japan to approach other matches.
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