U-20 World Cup: African teams reach knockout stage

June 8, 2015 : Kazeem Busari 

 

 

Flying Eagles coach Manu Garba

African representatives at the FIFA U-20 World Cup have recorded a major feat for the region as the four teams – Nigeria, Mali, Senegal and Ghana – all made it to the knockout stage of the competition on Sunday only for the second time in the history of the tournament.

The only other time was in 2007 when Nigeria, Zambia, Congo and Gambia reached the round of 16, with Nigeria eliminating Zambia at that stage.

While Ghana, the only African side to have won the U-20 World Cup in 2009, will face Mali on Wednesday, Nigeria, the African champions who defeated Hungary 2-0 on Sunday, will meet European champions Germany on Thursday. Senegal will face Ukraine on Wednesday.

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This fixture means that at least one African team will make it to the quarterfinals of the tournament.

Nigeria, who lost their first game to Brazil 4-2, bounced back into contention with their 4-0 bashing of Korea DPR in their second game, and only needed a draw to book their place in the knockout stage.

But two goals from Taiwo Awoniyi in the 33rd and 54th minutes pushed the Flying Eagles to second place in Group E, behind Brazil, handing them a second round ticket to face the top scoring side, so far, in the tournament.

Hungary, however, still qualified as one of the best losers and will face Serbia in the next round.

Thursday’s match will be the third between Nigeria and Germany at the U-20 World Cup. The Flying Eagles beat the Europeans 2-0 at the group stage in the 1999 edition in Lagos, and Germany knocked Nigeria out in the round of 16 after playing 3-2 at the 2009 edition in Egypt.

Nigeria coach, Manu Garba, believes his team will be up to the task when they face Germany, insisting that they must overcome the best teams if they must win the tournament.

He said, “It (the Hungary game) was a very good match for us. We wanted to score more, but still I’m happy with the 2-0 result. The Hungarians play more from the wings but we were able to control the game and the outcome.

“Our next game is against Germany but we are ready for any team, because if we want to be champions we have to be ready for them.”

Hungary coach, Bernd Storck, said it was difficult for his team to play against the Flying Eagles.

He said, “Our players’ fitness level was not at 100 per cent, as it was against Brazil, and to keep pace with an opposition like Nigeria is difficult. We started well for the first 15 minutes but they were better. I wanted to give a chance to all my players so I can test their level against these quality sides and I am happy that I managed to do that.”