Dream Team VI of Nigeria cruised into the semifinals of the 2016 Rio Olympics courtesy of a 2-0 victory over Denmark at the Arena Fonte NovaSalvador on Saturday night.<br /><br />Samson Siasia settled for the first team he had relied on at the tourney with the only change being Umar Aminu in for the injured Oghenekaro Etebo. <br /><br />The overall winners of tonight&rsquo;s affair knew that a salivating tie with Germany in the semifinals of the competition was on the cards.<br /><br />The Germans thumped Portugal 4-0 in the first quarterfinal earlier today.<br /><br />Nigeria and Denmark clashed in an invitational tournament in South Korea in June 2016 with the Danes 6-2 winners.<br /><br />African champions Nigeria won Group B on six points, while Denmark finished runners-up in Group A with four points<br /><br />It was a bright opening ten minutes for the African champions, but they didn&rsquo;t make their dominance count.<br /><br />The Europeans were on the verge of netting the first goal of the game in the 11th minute but the bar wasn&rsquo;t fair to them.<br /><br />&nbsp;A dipping volley by Kasper Nielsson crashed against the bar, with goalkeeper Emmanuel Daniel well beaten.<br /><br />Four minutes later, the African champions drew the curtain raiser. Skipper and Chelsea star Obi Mikel latched on to a cutback by Imoh Ezekiel to score.<br /><br />Ezekiel should have done better with his final delivery after he went on a solo effort as Nigeria pressed for the second goal. His shot wasn&rsquo;t clinical enough after ghosting past his marker at the left hand side.<br /><br />Denmark then had their best chance of the first half. A top reaction save by goalkeeper Daniel kept out a goal-bound header by Frederick Borsting.<br /><br />Another top drawer by Daniel kept Nigeria&rsquo;s lead intact. Frederick poked the ball on target which didn&rsquo;t deceive the Enugu Rangers goalie.<br /><br />Stanley Amuzie whipped a bullet which took a wicked deflection in the 38th minute.<br /><br />It was an entertaining first 45 minutes with Nigeria enjoying a bright start and they deserved their goal, but Denmark fought back and forced two big saves from Daniel.<br /><br />Nigeria continued to pile the pressure on their opponents, just as they did early in the first half.<br /><br />In the 54th minute, an unconventional save by Daniel from a free kick proved crucial for Samson Siasia&rsquo;s side.<br /><br />Some minutes to the hour, Amuzie saw his shot scuppered for a corner kick by goalkeeper Jeppe Hojbjerb.<br /><br />From the resultant corner, Umar scored for Nigeria with a header off Mikel&rsquo;s delivery.<br /><br />Denmark tried to push forward more in a bid to pull a goal back, but their efforts was in futility.<br /><br />The victory came at a price for Nigeria as Azubuike Okechukwu will miss the semifinals clash against Germany due to suspension.<br /><br />Igho Kingsley <br />