Author: Soorya G
Brazil, pre-tournament favorites, managed to overcome their first-day defeat by Italy with two resounding victories, the second of which came against a courageous Nigeria team. Brazil beat their African rivals 2-0 and finished top of Group D on goal difference, ahead of Italy, who had beaten the U-20s. It was a great disappointment for the Nigerians, who, as fate would have it, missed out on the chance to reach the pre-quarter-finals, where qualification is currently uncertain. The concession of the second goal and the consequent inability to score could be the cause of their elimination from the tournament, although the outlook for the Nigerians looks encouraging. With six points from the group stage, the Nigerians will be among the third-placed teams with the most points and will face either the USA or hosts Argentina.
The Nigerians were definitely the better team in the early stages of the game, as they took the contest to the Brazilians with brave, attacking soccer. His impressive and repeated advances towards the Brazil net should have been rewarded in the first ten minutes of the match. Emmanuel Umeh’s dangerous ball into the Brazilian box fell to Jude Sunday, who missed the chance early on. Sunday was extremely unlucky, as his volley hit the post and almost went in, before the VAR confirmed that the ball was in play. The Seleção quickly counter-attacked, setting out to create a three-on-one situation, which was wasted by Marcos Leonardo. Gradually, the Brazilians began to dominate the game, dictating the pace as the match progressed. However, Nigeria’s defenders were equally up to the task, frustrating their illustrious opponents for most of the first half. Leonardo would miss out once again in the 30th minute, when he had a golden chance that sailed over the crossbar. Italy’s 3-0 win over the Dominican Republic puts them through to the pre-quarter-final stage, where they will face the winner of Group E.
The deadlock was finally broken at the end of the first half when Jean Pedroso rose above everyone in the box to score Brazil’s first goal. If that had been the final score, Nigeria would have qualified ahead of Italy on goal difference, but the Brazilians refused to back down and scored a second goal early in the second half, this time through Arsenal talent Marquinhos. Despite Nigeria’s repeated attempts to reduce the deficit, the five-time champions held on to win the World Cup.
Hosts Argentina thrashed New Zealand 5-0 in a hard-fought game, with the Kiwis being given a tough lesson. The record champions scored three goals in the first half through Maestro Ignacio, Gino Infantino and Luka Romero. La Albiceleste came back for more blood, this time scoring two more goals, with Brian Aguirre converting from the penalty spot and Alejo Veliz adding another a few minutes from the end. With the win, Argentina completed a flawless group stage, winning all their games, scoring ten goals and conceding just one. Uzbekistan’s 2-0 win over Guatemala confirmed their superior goal difference over New Zealand. The Uzbeks will face Israel in the quarter-finals, with the latter coming off the back of a 2-1 win over Japan.
On the other hand, the USA had no problem dealing with Slovakia (2-0), as Cade Corwell’s first-half goal ensured that the team’s unbeaten run in the tournament was maintained. Colombia, meanwhile, had to rely on a last-minute goal from Oscar Cortes to draw with Senegal, ending the Africans’ hopes of qualifying for the quarter-finals. Ecuador gave a resounding thrashing to the weak Fijian team, who conceded nine goals, including four after the 85th minute. Fiji ended their campaign with 16 goals conceded, but none in their favor.
RIDE 3
Brazil – Nigeria 2-0
Dominican Republic – Italy 0-3
New Zealand – Argentina 0-5
Uzbekistan – Guatemala 2-0
Slovakia – USA 0-2
Ecuador – Fiji 9-0
Colombia – Senegal 1-1
Japan – Israel 1-2