NIGERIA’S Golden Eaglets have been knocked out of the ongoing U17 World Cup in Brazil after going down to a 3-1 defeat to the Netherlands in their second round match succumbing to a hat trick from Sontje Hansen.
Once more falling victim to poor defending, the Eaglets went behind after four minutes when Hansen latched on to a pass from by Jayden Braaf and finished confidently. However, this lead only lasted for eight minutes as Olakunle Olusegun drew Nigeria level in the 12th minute after receiving a through pass from Akinkunmi Amoo.
Three minutes later, however, the Netherlands regained the lead in the 15th minute with another fine effort by Jansen. After that, Nigeria struggled to break down the European champions’ defence and were also thwarted by the Dutch goalkeeper the few times they were able to get a sight of goal.
At the resumption, Nigeria pressed hard for an equaliser but the Dutch defence held out and eventually, the Eaglets got caught out on the counter-attack. In the 78th minute, they conceded a penalty when Ferdinand Ikenna handled the ball inside the box and Hansen stepped up to take the penalty for his hat-trick despite goalkeeper Daniel Jinadu diving into the right direction.
