The Flying Eagles of Nigeria have advanced to the knock-out stages of the U-20 FIFA World Cup after playing to a 1-1 draw against Colombia at the Estadio Fiscal de Talca, Soccernet.ng reports.
Like they did against Norway and Saudi Arabia, Aliyu Zubairu's boys struck the woodwork early in the game courtesy of a Daniel Daga header in the third minute, but it was Colombia who took the lead in the 20th minute through Oscar Perea, only for the goal to be pulled back for offside.
They eventually broke the deadlock in the 51st minute. A well-worked build-up play saw Kener Gonzalez shoot at Ebenezer Harcourt, but a deflection took the ball away from the Sporting Lagos goalkeeper.
Daniel Bameyi levelled the scores four minutes from the ninety, tucking away another penalty shoot-out like he did against Saudi Arabia.
Five takeaways from Nigeria's draw against Colombia
VAR drama strikes again
FIFA is currently trialling a new rule during the ongoing U-20 competition, allowing each coach to request the intervention of the Video Assistant referee during the game.
Each coach is allowed to make two requests per game, and one of the requests made by Aliyu Zubairu in the 85th minute bore fruit, as the on-field referee, Muhammad Nazmi bin Nasaruddin, went to the screen to view a handball situation.
After review, he pointed to the spot after initially waving the decision off. Daniel Bameyi stepped up a minute later to score the penalty, handing Nigeria a point and sending them to the round of 16, where they'll play against Argentina on October 8.
Profligacy in front of goal
While the Flying Eagles have an abundance of talent at their disposal, one thing that has been evident, even from the AFCON U-20 tournament in Egypt earlier this year, is that they're not deadly in front of goal.
Against Norway, Nigeria were denied by the woodwork, and in their second group game against Saudi Arabia, the same occurred. The game against Colombia wasn't any different, as they hit the crossbar three times.
If they're going to defeat Argentina in the next round, they'd have to be sharper with their finishing.
Dependence on set-pieces
While set-pieces are an opportunity to score, solely depending on those to win a tournament might be risky. Nigeria have scored four goals in three games in Chile. While that seems like a decent feat, just one of those goals came from open play.
Against Colombia, they needed a penalty to find the back of the net, despite having several chances before that.
Bameyi – a reliable captain
He's not the most agile or technically astute centre-back, but the Primorje defender has shown time and again that he has what it takes to be the leader the team needs when things go south.
The willingness and mental fortitude to score two game-deciding penalties is something that shouldn't be swept under the carpet.
