Nigeria’s Flying Eagles defeated Dominican Republic 2-1 in their opening game at the 2023 FIFA U-20 World Cup in Mendoza.
Read: FIFA Ranking: Nigeria’s Super Eagles Drop, Ranked Ahead Of Ghana And Cameroon
Dominican Republic, playing in their first-ever FIFA tournament game, took an unexpected lead on 23 minutes thanks to captain Edison Azcona.
Azcona was fouled within the box by centre-back Benjamin Frederick, and the North Americans were awarded a penalty by the centre referee after a lengthy check.
Inter Miami’s bcolly tucked the ball home, sending custodian Chijioke Aniagboso the wrong way.
Guillermo de Pena nodded into his own net for Nigeria’s equaliser after eight minutes.
Four minutes before halftime, Jude Sunday had a fierce shot saved by the Dominican Republic custodian.
After the interval, the Flying Eagles had complete control of the game.
The winning goal came with 20 minutes remaining.
Samson Lawal scored the game-winning goal after the Dominican Republic defence made a mistake.
The Flying Eagles’ next game is against Italy on Wednesday.
