Amuneke: Win over Brazil a confidence boost

Golden Eaglets of Nigeria coach, Emmanuel Amuneke, has described the 3-0 win over Brazil in the quarterfinal of the FIFA U-17 World Cup in Chile “a big confidence boost”.

Victor Osimhen opened the scoring for Nigeria after 29 minutes for his eighth goal of the competition while Kingsley Michael made it 2-0 in the 30th minute off an assist from Osimhen before Udochukwu Anumudu made it 3-0 in the 34th minute.

Amuneke said the team played well and deserve the win.

“Is not like we scored three goals and that was it. Before that, our side had 15 very good minutes, when they moved the ball around as we knew they could,” he said.

“You have to give credit to my kids, who were tranquil and kept their cool to deal with the Brazil pressure and then scored at the right time.

“For them, to beat Brazil is a big confidence boost. We still have a long way to the title, though.”

Brazil had never lost at Vina del Mar’s Sausalito stadium in FIFA competitions until their 3-0 defeat by Nigeria.

In total, this unblemished record stretched to six matches: four at the 1962 FIFA World Cup and two at the current competition.

And Brazil coach, Carlos Amadeu, said the result would have been different had they scored from the chances they created.

“We knew it was important for us to make the most of our opportunities, especially if we dominated the game at some point, but we didn’t,” he said.

“Their goals were scored in only five minutes because of specific chances, not because we were not balanced. We would like to have put Nigeria behind on the scoreboard, but we failed to score.

“For these kids, everything that has happened here is part of their learning process.”