Fans on Thursday commended the stellar performance of Flying Eagles over host Argentina by beating them 2-0 in front of their boisterous fans.
Ladan Bosso-tutored team bravely dumped Argentina out of the 2023 U-20 World Cup with a clean sheet.
Goals from Ibrahim Muhammad and Rilwanu Haliru Sarki sent the six-time champions, Argentina out of the FIFA U20 World Cup at the round of 16.
Okey Igbokwe, the General Manager of Nigeria National League (NNL) side, Giant Brillant of Enugu, congratulated the team and the technical crew on the historic win over Argentina.
“Congratulations, Nigeria U20 Team, it is a tremendous victory against the World Cup host, Argentina.
“The Flying Eagles’ exceptional performance and determination have brought immense pride and joy to the entire nation. The grit and discipline they displayed on the field are a testament to your hard work and dedication.
“Their triumph against a formidable opponent showcases the immense talent and potential within Nigerian football. They have not only made history but have also demonstrated the strength and resilience of the Nigerian spirit.
“To our coach, Ladan Bosso, his experience, leadership style and commitment to excellence has paid off, and his success will inspire generations of young coaches to follow in his footsteps,” he said.
According to Igbokwe, “to our young gladiators, they should continue to exhibit the same passion and drive in the upcoming matches.
“The journey has just begun, and we believe in your ability to achieve greatness.
“The team should stay focused, work together, and let your talent shine on the world stage.
“Congratulations once again on this remarkable victory! Nigeria stands behind the team united in celebration and support. Go forth and conquer.”
A former Technical Director of Shooting Stars Sports Club (3SC) of Ibadan, Abdulazeez Olatunde, said it was a sweet victory over the Argentines.
“Actually, this is not the first time we are beating Argentina in competitions, we have defeated them at the finals of 1996 Atlanta Olympics, but maybe at U-20 level we are talking about avenging the defeat in 2008 final in Holland.
“It’s true nobody gave us a chance against the Argentina team, maybe judging from the loss to the Brazilians which was due to technicality because we are not that bad.
“Nigeria lost to Brazil on technicality, because we want to mainly attack them leaving our defence line vulnerable, which led to the counter attacks that produced the two goals.
“In the second half of the match against Brazil, Nigeria was able to peg them back and also equalised with some shots fired which hit the upright and another the side post,” he said.
Olatunde added: “the mistake we made against Dominican Republic whom we should have scored more goals was what the Brazilians did by beating them 6-0.
“We should have won convincingly against Dominican Republic. Nigeria is not a push over in the tournament because we defeated Italy, which is a good indicator of the quality of the team.
“To say that Argentina are a better side coming to the match because they won all of their three matches may not be true. We also did same in 2022 in Cameroon, but we were bundled out by a Tunisian team that struggled to qualify.
“There is no impossibility in football, for records, the Argentina that we rated so high did not initially qualify for this tournament, they only got the chance as host after Indonesia was stripped of the hosting right,” he said.
