Nigeria walks on tight rope in testy match against Italy

Posted : 23 May 2023

The Nigeria's U-20 Flying Eagles will on Wednesday file out against Italy with one purpose which must be a win.

The Wednesday fixtures might be the decider for qualifications from the Group D which many have adjudged to be a ''Group of Death''.

Without mincing words, Group D remains the toughest pairings of the ongoing U-20 World Cup in Argentina as it contains countries that represent the powerhouse of football from each continent.

The Group D comprises Nigeria, the two-time Silver medalist and 13th time attendee, Italy who are the European champions; five-time winners, Brazil who are the tournament's favourites and Dominican Republic that will also want to make a name for themselves.

What makes the Group D more interesting is the shocking result from Italy and Brazil match which ended 3-2 in favour of Italy.

Italy U-20 team had on Sunday, against all expectations, shocked Brazil U-20 with a 3-2 win to overtake Nigeria on goals difference.

In the opening Group D game, Nigeria expectedly also defeated debutants Dominican Republic 2-1 at the Estadio Malvinas Argentinas in Mendoza.

What to expect.

From the Italy versus Brazil match, it looks like the Europeans champions are more ready to do battle with their style of play against Brazil where they dominated the game with three first half goals.

Matteo Prati scored the opening goal for Italy. His right footed shot from the right side of the six-yard box found its way into the net.

Cesare Casadei then scored in the 27th and 35th minute, scoring 3-0 at the half-time break.

Although Brazil emerged for the second half trying to make a statement with status as World champions by getting the two-goals equalisers, yet, it was Italy that had the last laugh when Marcos Leonardo struck the Selecao Sub U-20 first goal in the 72nd minute before bagging his brace with a fine header in the 87th minute.

The Ramon Menezes-tutored side were completely overan by Italy in the match.

On the stands, Italy leads, courtesy better goal account, while Nigeria with same points, but with lesser goals.

Nigerian technical crew led by Ladan Bosso must aim at the three maximum points which will be enough for a passage to the knock-out round at the Argentina 2023 FIFA World Cup.

Ladan Bosso and his boys must pickup lessons from the first game and be ready for Italy early enough.

Maybe a player Nigeria needs to watch out for is 18-year old Real Sapphire forward, Jude Sunday, who tormented the Dominican Republic back-line with his pace, strength and most significantly powerful shots.

For Nigeria to flourish, against Italy, Sunday will be key with his accurate eyes for distance.

With the way the Flying Eagles are shaped to attack, the probability of scoring in every game is high.

The strikers should be more direct with their approach and will not be short of supply from the midfield.

If Nigeria can score early enough, it will be a moral booster to face Italy head on as their defense lines look shaky and suspicious.

Head to Head, this is the first meeting between Nigeria and Italy at U-20 level.

Nigeria walks on tight rope in testy match against Italy

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