I saw the Omen, the cloud was heavy and it was just obvious to those who have been observing the way The Golden Eaglets of Nigeria were going about their matches at the ongoing FIFA U-17 world cup in Brazil. It has finally happened, one of the tournament's favorites just got dumped out of the competition, not like we didn't see it coming anyway. If you have been following my previous blogs in relation to how the Nigeria Golden Eaglets have been navigating their sail in the competition, you would not be too surprised by their elimination. The game which ended 3-1 saw the Netherlands clip the wings of the Eaglets, thereby putting an end to their dream of lifting the trophy for the sixth time. Going into the round of 16 game between both sides, Nigeria were the favorites after topping group B. For Netherlands, they only made it through the eye of a needle, as they were fortunate to be among the best third place teams.
Many would have thought they only progressed to the next round just to be knocked out by an offensive Nigerian side, however, they turned the tides in their favour and before Nigeria could say Jack Robinson, the Oranje were already through to the quarter finals.
The Golden Eaglets prides themselves as one of the best comeback teams so far in the competition and it's obvious Manu Garba did nothing to mend the cracks we saw in the team after they were beating 2-1 by Australia in their last group match. In their first group B game against Hungary, they came from behind to steal the win from their opponents. Against Ecuador, they did same after a hat trick from Sai'd rescued handed six points to the Eaglets. Against Australia, they lost. Well, since they had already booked a spot in the round of 16, one could say maybe they were trying to avoid injuries and not going too had into the game. However, that result against Australia was an omen of a disaster to befall the squad and the inability of Manu Garba cum his coaching crew to cover the loopholes before taking on Netherlands in the knockout round saw them kicked out of Brazil. In a match like this, it's always the genius of one player that it takes to fire a team through the barricades, and for Sontje Handsen, this was the best moment of his football career so far.
Just like Sai'd netted a hat trick against Ecuador to send the Golden Eaglets into the round of 16, it took a Hansen's hat trick to them dump Nigeria from the competition. The world is really moving in circle and what goes around sometimes comes around. He was the hero of the night/morning for the Dutch and he will be proud of himself considering Nigeria's pedigree when it comes to FIFA U-17 World Cup. The Dutch came with a defined purpose, and that was to hit Nigeria early enough to boost their confidence. The game which tool place at Estadio Olimpico saw Hansen draw the first blood of the match by netting a goal in the opening 4 minutes to hand Netherlands the lead. However, as one will expect, Nigeria responded not too long later and a 12th minute goal from Olakunle Olusegun levelled the scores at 1-1. It didn't take long for Hansen to restore the lead before scoring late penalty to complete his hat trick for the match. It ended 3-1 and the Dutch have booked a place for the next round, while Manu Garba and his boys will have to come back and lick their wounds.
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