Nigeria’s U-23 team have secured a place in the semi final of the Rio Olympic Games Men’s football after beating Denmark 2-0 at the Fonte Nova Arena, Salvador on Saturday.
The Nigeria team started the game like a house on fire as they attacked Denmark from all angle of the pitch but couldn’t make their dominance count as they failed to convert their goal scoring chances.
However, Mikel Obi scored from a close range in the 16th minute after a brilliant pass from Imoh Ezekiel to give the team an early lead. Nigeria could have extended their lead to three or four goals but for poor finishing in front of goal they went into half time with just a goal.
At the resumption of the second half, the Danish team took possession of the midfield as they searched for that all important equalizer but the presence of William Troost-Ekong in the defence kept them at bay. In an attempt to push the Dream Team back on the wall, Denmark decided to make use of the long balls which didn’t really yield positive result for them.
Nigeria eventually got the needed second goal in the 52nd minute as Aminu Umar headed into the back of Denmark’s net to seal the team’s qualification to the semi final of the Rio Olympic Games. They will face a Germany side that defeated Portugal 4-0 in the next round on Tuesday in a bid to book a final ticket for a gold medal.
