It's gonna be going down on Friday November 1st, as the Golden Eaglets of Nigeria look forward to grabbing full 9 points against Australia in their last group B match at the ongoing FIFA U-17 World Cup, which is taking place in Brazil. Going into that encounter on Friday, Australia will be throwing in all their might against one of the Tournament's favorite Nigeria, who have already booked a spot in the knockout stage. The Golden Eaglets currently sit top of group B with 6 points to their name after winning their first two group matches.
For Manu Garba's side, the game against Australia on Friday is gonna be to fulfill a righteousness, as they are already through to the next round of the competition. They will try to keep the game light and avoid going too hard on their opponents to avoid picking up injuries or getting unnecessary bookings. If I were Nigeria's coach, I will use this opportunity to experiment on other players who haven't featured in the tournament just yet. However, this is a Nigerian side that are so used to winning and I doubt if the gaffer will be leaving any stone unturned against Australia on Friday. Alongside Nigeria, the teams that have also booked a spot in the knockout stage are Brazil and Angola from group A, as of Tuesday.
The Five Time World Champions showed the stock they are made of against Ecuador onTuesday, as they had to come from behind to defeat their resilient opponents in their second group B match. They knew winning was not an option if they were to seal their place in the knockout stage, though the South American made that ride a rough one, Nigeria fought to the end and as the case may be, toppled their opponents at the tail end of the game to secure a win. The game ended 3-2 against Ecuador, thanks to our hat-trick hero Sai'd. You will also recall that Nigeria had come from behind to defeat Hungary in their opening game, and that match ended 4-2. It's no more news that the Golden Eaglets are a force to reckon with when it comes to U-17 FIFA world Cups and their win against a determined Ecuador side at Estadio Olimpico lends credence to that.
As for Australia, they will be going all out into this game against Nigeria and will be hoping to upset the Five time Champions when they come against each other on Friday. Australia know what's at stake and they will also be hoping that Ecuador does not secure a win over Hungary. Against Nigeria, they will be going into the clash as the underdogs, but that could be a huge advantage on its own on a very good day. Taking advantage of Nigeria's foreseeable complacency will be a good strategy, if they really wanna keep their dream of progressing to the next round alive. You will recall that Australia lost their opening game to Ecuador and had to come from behind to secure a 2-2 draw against Hungary on Tuesday. Despite not being lucky against Hungary in their second group B game, they were the better team and looked all shades of a motivated side going into this encounter with Nigeria. In their past 6 meetings with Nigeria in this competition, Australia have failed to record any win against the Golden Eaglets. They have lost all and will be hoping to put a stop to that on Friday. My Prediction: Nigeria 3-1 Australia
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