Australia on Friday lashed Nigerian Eaglets 2-1 in a final Group B head to head at the FIFA U-17 World Cup Brazil 2019 at the Estadio Bezerrão in Brasilia (Gama). News Agency of Nigeria reports that Noah Botic has continued to remain afloat in the tournament by netting a brace.
Botic netted the two goals by scoring one goal in each half in what could be best described as an intense match with both sides’ struggling as an attacking player.
The celebrated Botic has scored four of Australia’s five goals at Brazil 2019 and he will be a player Morgan upon who could be relied on to deliver in the knockout stage.
The result was the most strategic for the Joeys, especially for securing their qualification to the Round of 16 as one of the best third-place sides, and also for historical value.
It was bad luck for Nigeria as Australia narrowly scored in their seventh attempt in the U-17 world finals.
Despite the defeat, the Eaglets were not discouraged but to display talent though have been disqualified for the last 16.
The Eaglets were given tough time by the Australian defence, as Adam Pavlesic, the goalkeeper saved them from many good attempts.
Head coach, Manu Garba will be happy with his team’s response after going down early.
This was when Peter Olawale, who was making his first appearance, equalised in the 21st minute with a mind-blowing curled, left-footed shot from the edge of the box.
However, the Golden Eaglets need to work on their finishing in the knockout stage as they failed to be clinical in front of goal in a game where they registered 34 shots in total.
