Flying Eagles grounded

Nigeria falls short, but still has plenty of reasons to be proud

By John F. Molinaro, CBCSports.ca

Africa's hopes of finally winning a FIFA U-20 World Cup came to an abrupt end Sunday when Chile defeated Nigeria.

The Nigerians battled to a 0-0 draw following 90 minutes of regulation time in the quarter-final in Montreal before losing 4-0 to the Chileans in extra time.

The score wasn't indicative of how close the game was — after Chile scored in the 96th minute, the Nigerians pressed forward in numbers, leaving them badly exposed at the back, which led to an avalanche of goals by the South Americans.

Zambia's Joseph Zimba (left) tries to block the shot from Nigeria's Chukwuma Akabueze during the second round. (Tom Hanson/Canadian Press)

Touted as one of the pre-tournament favourites, Nigeria, dubbed the Flying Eagles, was attempting to reach the tournament finals for the second straight time — the Africans lost 2-1 to Argentina two years ago in the Netherlands.

Nigeria's failure to reach the final four is a bitter pill to swallow, but the Flying Eagles can take pride in their play in Canada.

"We held on well for the whole match, but when we let in the first goal things got difficult. I tried to tell my players to carry on and that nothing was lost, but it was too hard to come back from that psychologically," Nigeria coach Ladan Bosso said after the game against Chile.

"We're very frustrated because we really wanted to reach the final, but the Nigerian public knows the lads did their best."

African teams praised

African nations have been criticized for being defensively naive — that they too easily lose their concentration in key moments of the game and continue to press forward in search of more goals when they should employ a more defensive approach.

Nigeria, however, played solid defence in Canada, registering three shutouts in the first round (two wins and a draw) and only giving up one goal before the Chile game.

"This tournament has been a good thing for Nigeria and the whole of Africa. We showed we have talented players who are proud to represent the national side," Nigeria captain Ezekiel Bala said.

Indeed, African soccer fans can take a great deal of pride in how their teams performed.

All four African countries — Nigeria, Congo, Zambia and Gambia — advanced to the knockout stage of the tournament, an impressive feat considering Zambia's only previous U-20 World Cup appearance came in 1999, and that Congo and Gambia were making their tournament debuts.

Congo defeated Canada in its final round-robin game to book its spot in the second round, where it dropped a 3-0 decision to mighty Mexico.

"I'm proud of the way we performed. Some of the boys hadn't even played competitive football before 2005, and I'm amazed by how they've done," Congo coach Eddie Hudanksi said.

"We have shown that we deserved to be here, and although the boys still have a bit of catching up to do on other countries, if they carry on working hard, I can assure you they're going to have a very strong team in the future."

'Small country, big heart'

Like Congo, Gambia also turned some heads, and defeated two-time world youth champion Portugal in the first round to advance to the knockout stage. The Gambians fell 2-1 to Austria in its next game but overachieved in Canada by even making it out of the first round.

"My lads adapted well and fought hard to finally get the win. 'Small country, big heart,' that's our motto," said Gambia's coach, Peter Bonu Johnson. This is without doubt one of the greatest moments in Gambian football…."

Zambia stunned South American powerhouse Uruguay 2-0 in the round robin to finish second in Group B behind Spain and advance. A 2-1 loss to Nigeria in the second round eliminated Zambia, but coach George Lwandamina was pleased with how his charges played.

"Even though we're out of the competition, I can't say that I'm disappointed. This tournament has been a great experience both for ourselves [the coaching staff] and the boys," Lwandamina said.

"What can I take from this adventure? This team was only formed two years ago and arrived in Canada having only played in three tournaments together. Even so, the guys showed determination and ambition. They should have no regrets."