How Golden Eaglets Conquered the world

Asia has been a good hunting ground for the Golden Eaglets, since the maiden edition of the FIFA U-17 World Cup was held in China in 1985.


At the inaugural edition, a relatively unknown Nigerian side captained by Nduka Ugbade, who is now an assistant coach of the current team, won the cup after beating Germany 2-0 in the final of what was then called Kodak Cup. Jonathan Akpoborie and Victor Igbinoba scored the goals for the Eaglets in 4th and 79th minutes respectively.

Strength, skill and a willingness to attack were the three main ingredients in Nigeria’s first world title at this level. The west Africans proved themselves superior in just about all facets of the game.

The Golden Eaglets coasted through the first round with a 1-0 victory over Italy, a 3-0 win against Costa Rica and a draw with Saudi Arabia, then stepped up a gear to brush aside Hungary (3-1) in the
quarter-finals. They came back down to earth against Guinea, but scraped through on penalties (4-2), before triumphing over West Germany in the Final.

With Lucky Agbonsevafe imperial in goal, Sani Adamu equally commanding in the middle of the park and Joseph Babatunde on hand to put away half chances up front, Nigeria were unstoppable. Their superior physique and natural attacking enterprise made the Golden Eaglets an irresistible powerhouse.
Over the days that the tournament lasted, Chinese fans showed their love for the beautiful game with massive turnout. On the whole, 735,000 fans watched the matches at the stadia. It was a great moment
watching Ugbade lift the title aloft as the Eaglets found their first FIFA glory on Asian success.

Buoyed by their success, Eaglets attempted to win the title again in the next editions but failed. It was until the 1993 edition in Japan, another Asian country that the Nigerians would have a taste of the
cherry again.

Captained by midfielder Wilson Oruma, the Nigerians were the shining star of the FIFA U-17 World Cup in Japan.

In an all-African showdown in Asia, Nigeria overcame Ghana in the Final to take the laurels at Japan ’93. The Golden Eaglets stood out from start to finish, their outstanding physique, impeccable sense of
organisation and progressive tactics combining to make them the most feared team in the tournament.
Having future stars of the calibre of Wilson Oruma (top scorer in the competition), Nwankwo Kanu, Peter Anosike, Ibrahim Babangida and Celestine Babayaro at their disposal certainly helped too.

Nigeria’s 8-0 thrashing of poor Canada at the start of the proceedings set the tone; South American giants Argentina hardly fared much better, going down 4-0, and then it was the turn of Australia (2-0), Japan (2-1) and Poland (2-1) to suffer at the hands of the all-conquering Nigerians. Ghana were the last hurdle, and a 2-1 win in the Final was enough to send the Golden Eaglets flying home with the coveted trophy safely in their grasp. Yet again in Asia.

The 1993 tournament really belonged to the Eaglets. Wilson Oruma scored six goals while  Nwankwo Kanu netted five times.

After that success, Nigeria will face an agonising 12 years title-drought before winning their third  FIFA U-17 Cup at the South Korea edition in 2007.

At that time, it was the third time that the tournament was holding on Asian soil and, having scaled the heights at China 1985 and Japan 1993, the Golden Eaglets left the continent with their third global
crown. They defeated Spain in the final.

The Late Yemi Tella’s Nigerians appeared potential candidates for the main prize right from the off, and were certainly not lacking in confidence. “We’ll take the trophy back to Nigeria,” announced the
African champions’ coach, and those words seem more than a little prophetic now.

France, Japan, Haiti, Colombia, Argentina and Germany all fell by the wayside, unable to cope with tireless captain Lukman

Haruna in midfield, technically-superb duo Rabiu Ibrahim and King Osanga and goal-scorer extraordinaire Macauley Chrisantus.

Fearsome going forward, Nigeria proved against Spain in the final that they are also rock solid at the back. And while it was their forwards who took most of the kudos in the earlier rounds, it was goalkeeper Oladele Ajiboye who emerged as the hero when it mattered, following 120 minutes of goalless football and a penalty shoot-out.

Asier Illarramendi missed the target altogether, but Ajiboye denied both Fran Merida and Iago, which meant successful attempts from Matthew Edile, Daniel Joshua and Ganiyu Oseni earned the Golden Eaglets their third title to equal Brazil’s record.

Remarkably, the late Tella was assisted to win the cup in 2007 by Coach Manu Garba, who now oversees the crop that campaigned at this year’s edition in the United Arab Emirates, another Asian country, where they have found fame and fortune on the pitches of Al Ain, Dubai, Sharjar and Abu Dhabi.

At the 2013 edition in the UAE, the Eaglets have been the team of the tournament. They have scored 23 goals, the most by any team and have even defeated defending champions Mexico 6-1. They have played the best attacking football and every team about them reel of quality.

They are a sheer beauty to behold on the pitch and it is predicted that these boys will go on to shine for the Super Eagles in the future. They are young, mobile and talented. Parading the likes of captain Musa Mohamed,  Success Isaac, Kelechi Iheanacho, Taiwo Awoniyi, Musa Mohamed, goalkeeper DeleAlampasu, Samuel Okon, Aliyu Abubakar, Abdulkadir Alfa, Musa Yahaya, Chidebere Nwakali, Chidera Ezeh and Zaharadden Bello, this team are an exciting breed. The future is indeed bright for Nigerian football, who have found joy once again in Asia.