The Flying Eagles of Nigeria defeated the Dominican Republic 2-1 in the FIFA U-20 World Cup opener.
It was Group D’s opening fixture as the African side claimed the precious win at the Estadio Malvinas Argentina in Mendoza, Argentina.
The Dominicans opened the scoring from the penalty spot in the 21st minuter following a dangerous tackle by Benjamin Frederick inside the box.
The Flying Eagles equalised after Guillermo De Pena headed a long throw-in into his own net.
The vital winner came barely 20 minutes to the end when impressive Nigerian midfielder Samson Lawal found the back of the net in a spectacular fashion.
The Flying Eagles will face Italy next in their Group D tie before playing Brazil in the last group game.
NFF Reacts
Meanwhile, the Secretary General of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF), Mohammed Sanusi, praised the performance of the boys. He said via Complete Sports:
“We are happy with the three points though we wanted the boys to win by a higher margin as goals advantage do matter along the line in a competition such as this, Sanusi told thenff.com.
