U17 World Cup : Five Things We Noticed From Nigeria's Dismal Loss To Netherlands

Nigeria's Golden Eaglets in the early hours of Wednesday crashed out of the 2019 FIFA U-17 World Cup with a 3-1 to Netherlands.

Izuchukwu Okosi looks at the five takeaways from the defeat.

1. The Dutch More Tactical

The Nigerian side started brightly but they came up against a very tactically decent side. Every move made by the young Dutch had intents. They  were patient in their build ups and never panicked when the Eagles attacked.

2. Nigeria Changed Formation

Coach Manu Garba had been deploying three man defensive side but went a back four against Netherlands. That helped curtail the forays of the Dutch albeit in the second half, left back Charles Etim seemingly had to join the midfield in a bid to create an overload in midfield as the Africans went for the kill as they chased the game.

3. The Golden Eaglets Will Be Snatched Up By Top Teams

Despite an early elimination in Nigeria's standards at the cadet World Cup this team have very talented players and this could mark the return of Nigerian players to big teams in Europe.
 
4. Central Defenders The Weakest Link

The Central defensive pair of Ferdinand Ikenna and Usman Ibrahim were not particularly the worst pair in Brazil but sometimes they played as though they were not communicating effectively.


5. The Team Never Starts Well

The Golden Eaglets again had to chase the game from behind. Teams can't get lucky all the time coming from behind to win.

The players must take this away as a big lesson. Time flies. The boys are expected to represent Nigeria at the U-20 level in 2021. Enough said.