By Kunle Mudasiru
Goals by Amina Bello, Chiamaka Okwuchukwu, Flourish Sabastine and substitute Joy Igbokwe against Venezuela in Cali on Saturday took two-time silver medallists Nigeria to the Round of 16 of the ongoing FIFA U20 Women’s World Cup.
Bello guided home a cut-back by the irrepressible Okwuchukwu for the first goal against the South Americans in the 16th minute, before Okwuchukwu turned goalscorer in the 28th minute when she met a corner kick with a bullet header to make it 2-0 for Nigeria.
Okwuchukwu, who scored Nigeria’s only goal in their 1-3 loss to Germany on Wednesday night, was at it again in added time of the first half, when she assisted Flourish Sabastine with a pull-out that the latter converted to put daylight between both countries.
Substitute Joy Igbokwe made it four, four minutes into added time, with the result effectively steering the Falconets to the Round of 16 of the competition.
Victory earned the Falconets six points and a plus three goals difference in their group D campaign, with their Round of 16 game to come up in Bogota on Thursday.
