Sports
FIFAWomen U-20 W/Cup: Falconets Make History Eliminate Champions, USA
Nigeria’s Super Falconets did the almost impossible by coming from behind to eliminate world champions, USA from the FIFA Under-20 World Cup in Germany yesterday.
Goalkeeper Alaba Jonathan was the hero as she saved one penalty kick and intimidated USA star player Sydney Leroux into missing the decisive kick to send Nigeria through 4-2 on penalties after the game ended 1-1 in regulation and extra-time.
Amber Brooks had given the USA the lead on nine minutes as a nervy Nigerian team struggled to find any sort of rhythm in the opening 45 minutes. It was to their credit though, that despite the disjointed play, they held it down at the back and kept the dangerous Sydney Leroux quiet.
At the other end, the USA back-four were also doing a good job stifling and keeping pace with Nigeria’s lethal combination of Ebere Orji and Eberechi Oparanozie.
The Falconets best passage of play came in the closing minutes of the first half when composed passing and ball movement opened up the USA defence, but Orji hit tamely at the keeper.
Nigeria looked a side reborn in the second half, continuing from where they left off in the first and threatened the world champions endlessly.
Both Orji and Oparanozie had half-chances to reap rewards, but found their route blocked by Crystal Dunn and Henninger.
Nigeria coach Ndem Egan then threw on the mercurial Esther Sunday, who had been inexplicably left out of the starting eleven, and Nigeria looked even more dangerous. And the goal didn’t take long to follow.
Sunday rolled a free-kick into the path of Ukaonu, who zapped an unstoppable effort past Henninger and into the top right hand corner.
Nigeria had their tails up and were pinning the rattled Americans back in their own half, but there were to be no further goals even in extra time, although both sides had chances to do so.
Oparanozie muscled round her marker, but hit the side netting with only Henninger in front of her, and Kristie Mewis crashed a volley on the crossbar late on. The game went into penalties, and it was the Nigerian who came out triumphant.
The victory marked the first time the Falconets would go beyond the quarter final stage of the competition and the first time any Nigeria woman football team will reach the semi final stage in a FIFA world cup
They will now play Colombia in Thursday’s quarterfinal.
England captain Harry Kane netted a hat-trick to guide Bayern Munich to an impressive victory against Stuttgart.
Kane’s goals, plus one from Kingsley Coman, helped Bayern end a three-game winless run in all competitions.
They faced a tough task against a Stuttgart side who sat back and limited their chances, leading Vincent Kompany’s side to enter the break frustrated and with the deadlock unbroken.
Bayern eventually found a way past Stuttgart’s steely defence when Kane drilled a low effort into the bottom corner from around 30 yards out after Joshua Kimmich overturned possession.
Former Nigeria goalkeeper, Dosu Joseph, is full of thanks to God after he miraculously survived another life-threatening automobile accident recent at Kara, along the Lagos-Ibadan Express Way, where a heavy-duty truck ran into his SUV.
Narrating his ordeal, the 51-year-old, who guided Nigeria to gold in the Men’s Football Tournament of the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta, broke the news in a statement on his social media handles on Friday.
“To God be the glory, another death escaped by Grace and Mercy of God. Me and my friend SM were at Enyo Filling Station after Ojodu Berger bus stop to get fuel on Wednesday, October 2, 2024, around 6 p.m. when this MACK truck fully loaded with iron, with registration number LND 470 XX, left the road and crushed my car beyond repairs. Thank God for life,” he stated.
This is the second time the soft-spoken club proprietor will cheat death by a whisker, having been involved in an accident in 1997 that ended his career at 23 and left his spinal cord in bad shape.
He helped Julius Berger win the Nigeria FA Cup in November 1997 shortly a memorable Olympic outing by keeping a clean sheet in the finals against Katsina United. The following year, he was involved in the auto along Ikorodu Road, Lagos, which not only cut his career short but also left him almost paralysed, ending his spell at Serie A club Reggiana.
The former Nigeria international, who also kept goal for Julius Berger FC, said the case has been reported to Isheri Police Station, Ogun State, where the driver is currently detained and the truck also seized.
According to him, the owner of the truck said he can’t fix the badly damaged SUV until after a year.
Ex – Super Eagles of Nigeria, Okwuchukwu Waobikeze has observed that sports development in Nigeria is going down.
According to him, grassroots sports is very important, without it, the administrators cannot get it right. So everybody should key into grassroots sports development, he said.
Waobikeze said this last Wednesday in an interview with sports journalists shortly after the Port Harcourt All Stars Independence football festival (OCTOBERFEST) at the Port Harcourt club, Rivers State.
He explained that for sports administrators to get it right, grassroots development is key. “They should be organising competition at the grassroots level to fish out the young ones for different sporting activities.
“Grassroots sports is very important so the administrators have to go back to the grassroots.
” Sports Development in Nigeria is going down we need to go back to the basics.
“Look at the just concluded Paris Olympics, Nigeria did not win any medal.
” Our football team did not even qualify for the Olympics. We are going down.
” If they should go back to the grassroots, they will get young ones in the games and talents will be developed.
” I started from school games, to youth games before playing for the national team. Now everybody wants to fly board to play professional football and a lot do not know the basics of the game.
” A lot of people did not know the little things about the game, they just want to play. It is not done so,” Waobikeze stated.
Kiadum Edookor