Nigeria’s Flying Eagles and three other countries have qualified for the round of 16 in the ongoing Under-20 World Cup in Argentina, News About Nigeria reports.
Ladan Bosso’s boys trashed Italy 2-0 in a dramatic twist of faith on Thursday, to secure a spot in the knockout stage of the competition.
The manager’s tactical changes into the second half were the Holy Grail that sealed the match for the West African Youths.
Bosso brought in Tochukwu Nnadi and Emmanuel Ume to replace Samon Lawal and Ibrahim Muhammad.
Ume would later in the game pair with Lawal Fago to produce the breakthrough for the Flying Eagles, while the second goal came from Jude Sunday at stoppage time.
The victory now give Nigeria Heads-up in group D, as they become they become the first team to qualify with maximum two points, having won their first two games.
Brazil follow in the second spot after a goal festival with Dominican Republic, beating the debutants 6-0. Italy secures the third while Dominican Republic sits at the bottom with zero point.
Meanwhile, three other countries have qualified for the Round of 16 in the tournament.
Following the conclusion of Wednesday’s group-stage fixtures, Argentina, Colombia, USA, and Nigeria are now said to have qualified for the Round of 16 stage.
These countries all have 6 points each after winning their first two games in the group stage.
Senegal failed to make it in after a 1-1 draw with Israel in the Wednesday fixture, while Colombia won 2-1 against Japan.
The tournament continues today, Thursday, with Uruguay facing England, while France will slug it out with Gambia. Iraq will tackle Tunisia, and South Korea will go head-on with Honduras.
The Round of 16 stages is set to commence next week, as the final group stage fixtures draw to a close on Friday, Saturday and Sunday.
