Nigeria’s Golden Eaglets have won the Under-17 World Cup for a record fourth time with a 3-0 win over champions Mexico.
Erick Aguirre’s own goal on nine minutes put the Golden Eaglets in the front foot. The Golden Eaglets broke quickly to create a three-against-one situation, and as Musa Yahaya was about to pull the trigger, Aguirre’s attempted clearance ended up in his own net. Yahaya nearly doubled the lead in the 39th minute but his shot crashed against the bar. Moments later, Taiwo Awoniyi tried a spectacular overhead kick but it went straight into the arms of Raul Gudino in the Mexican goal.
Mexico threatened the Nigerian goal a couple of times in the first half but found Alampasu in inspired form.
The Mexicans pressed early in the second half but it was Nigeria who doubled their lead when Gudino parried a long range shot into the path of Kelechi Iheanacho, who tapped in for his sixth goal of the tournament. With 15 minutes left on the clock, the Mexicans had a great chance to score but Ivan Ochoa headed wide and the title was sealed when Captain Mohammed curled a free kick round the wall from the edge of the area with nine minutes left. The Eaglets also picked up the tournament’s fair-play award while Dele Alampasu was awarded the Golden Glove for being the best goalkeeper
The victory in the United Arab Emirates caps a successful year for Nigeria after the Super Eagles won the Africa Cup of Nations in South Africa in January
