Nigeria advanced to the quarterfinals of the FIFA U-20 World Cup on Wednesday by stunning Argentina 2-0.
In a thrilling and suspenseful contest, goals from Ibrahim Muhammad and Rilwanu Haliru Sarki in the Round of 16 matches advanced the Flying Eagles into the last eight.
Nigeria started the game off strong, showcasing their intention to assault. However, La Albiceleste progressively took charge of the game as the first half went on. Veliz had a few opportunities to open the scoring, but two of his efforts were saved by Nigeria’s Kingsley Aniagboso. One of his headers nearly missed the crossbar.
The Nigerian breakthrough occurred in the second period. Ibrahim Muhammad brilliantly guided the ball out of Federico Gomes Gerth’s grasp after receiving a superbly weighted pass over the top from Emmanuel Umeh.
The Nigerian contingent celebrated the goal with glee, as Argentina stepped up their search for an equalizer. Luka Romero’s potent low strike rattled the inside of the post, giving Nigeria a brief sigh of relief as he came agonizingly close to tying the score.
Argentina pushed forward fiercely, desperate to keep their tournament aspirations alive, which caused the atmosphere in the stadium to reach a fever pitch. Rilwanu Haliru Sarki became the match’s hero for Nigeria in the closing seconds, in a spectacular turn of events.
When there was little more time left, Sarki leapt high to meet with a cross and guided a wonderfully timed header into the goal.
The joy that followed was evidence of how far Nigeria had come. With this incredible result, Nigeria advances to the quarterfinals, where they will play the winner of Sunday’s match between Ecuador and the Republic of Korea in Santiago del Estero.
Meanwhile, check out other results and the next fixtures
