By Emmanuel Ebimoh
Ibrahim Said scored the first hat-trick at the ongoing FIFA U-17 World Cup in Brazil to power Nigeria past Ecuador in their second group game of the competition.
The Golden Eaglets, who were behind in the second half, scored two late goals to win the game 3-2 at the Estadio Olimpico in Goiania on Tuesday night. The Eaglets mounted a comeback for a second straight match and are now qualified for the Round of 16, sitting comfortably on six points in Group B.
The Golden Eaglets, who are 5 times World Champions of the competition, had opened the scoring after just 5 minutes of play when Olalekan Olusegun put Ecuador’s goalkeeper Joan Lopez under pressure which forced the keeper to make a sloppy clearance. The ball fell kindly to Said who netted coolly from close range.
Equador however equalized in the 10th minute through a shot that deflected off the back of Nigeria’s goal keeper, Daniel Jinadu.
In the 56th minute of the second half, Equador were awarded a penalty when Nigeria’s Charles Etim was deemed to have fouled John Mercano in the box. The resulting penalty was converted by Johan Mina and gave Equador the lead.
However, it was all the Golden Eaglets afterwards. The Nigerian side piled the pressure on their opponent with series of attacks in search of an equalizer, and in the 85th minute of the game, Ibrahim Said scored his brace of the game with a curling shot that dipped into the top right corner of the post.
The striker would go on to score his hat-trick and the first of the competition in the 89th minute to give Nigeria their second straight win in the ongoing FIFA U-17 World Cup.
The win pushes Nigeria to the top of Group B and a guaranteed qualification into the next round with one game to spare.
Nigeria will play Australia in their final group match on November 1.
