The year 2013 has been described by the President of the Nigeria Olympic Commission (NOC) Engr. Sani Ndanusa as a year of reshaping and re-engineering of Nigerian sports sector but many wouldn’t forget in a hurry the laurels and glory which came as a reward for the hardworking athletes, the ever responsive administrators and the attentive media.
Thus, Nigeria’s Under-20 team, the Flying Eagles, qualified for the World Cup after finishing in third place at the African Youth Championships in Algeria, but the under-17 team, the Golden Eaglets put up a dominant display at the World cup in the United Arab Emirate.
Flying Eagles
Nigeria was drawn in Group B of the African U-20 championship alongside Mali, Gabon and Congo DR in the tournament which began in March.
The Coach John Obuh-tutored lads finished as runners-up in the group behind Mali to set up a semi-final showdown with Egypt in Ain Temouchent.
The Young Pharaohs comfortably cruised past the Flying Eagles 2-0 but the minimum requirement- a ticket to the Fifa U-20 World Cup finals in Turkey- had already been achieved.
The Nigerians went on to defeat Mali 2-1 in the third place match as coach Obuh got a reprieve to lead the side to the World Cup despite some frayed nerves.
The team commenced their World Cup campaign in Turkey after being pitched with Portugal, Cuba and South Korea in Group B at the draw.
The Flying Eagles lost their opening match 3-2 to Portugal with skipper Abdul Ajagun netting a brace. Successive wins over Cuba and South Korea saw the Nigerians finish runners-up behind Portugal.
The U-20 boys lost their round of 16 tie against Uruguay 2-1 in the continuation of the tournament in July.
Obuh knew his time was up and duly tendered his resignation as the U-20 coach.
Golden Eaglets
The Nigeria U-17 team did not win the African Youth Championship (AYC) title, losing on penalties to Ivory Coast in the final, but succeeded in becoming the only team to have won a record fourth Fifa World Cup title late on in the year.
The Golden Eaglets arrived in Morocco for the African U-17 championship in April. Three players due for the tournament, Wilfried Ndidi, Ibrahim Abdullahi and Emmanuel Asadu failed the Magnetic resonance Imaging (MRI) tests conducted before kick-off.
A 6-1 victory against Ghana was followed with a penultimate 1-0 loss to Ivory Coast before another huge 7-0 drubbing of Congo as the Eaglets romped to the top of Group B.
A routine 4-2 win over Tunisia in the semi-finals set up another date with Cote d’Ivoire, this time in the final.
The game ended 1-1 after extra-time before both team took to the spot to decide the winner of the championship. The Ivoirians celebrated an unlikely victory after Chidiebere Nwakali missed from 12 yards.
The Coach Manu-Garb-led team began their quest for an epoch-making campaign in October after being drawn in Group F against Mexico, Sweden and Iraq in the group stage.
The team thrashed defending champions from the previous edition, Mexico, 6-1 at the Sheikh Khalifa International Stadium in Al Ain in their opening first game. Kelechi Iheanacho, who went on to be named the MVP of the tournament grabbed four goals in that match.
Nigeria drew 3-3 against Sweden in their second game before mauling Iraq 5-0 in their final group game.
The Golden Eaglets ended the month in emphatic fashion as they sealed their place in the quarter-finals of the competition with a 4-1 win over Iraq in Al Ain.
They continued their fine cruise to the final with a 2-0 quarter-final win over Uruguay in November before beating Sweden 3-0 in the semi-finals to set up a rematch with Mexico in the final.
The talented Nigerian youngsters ensured they sealed an historic triumph with a 3-0 win over Mexico in Abu Dhabi- becoming the only side to have won the U-17 World Cup on four different occasions (in 1985, 1993, 2007 and 2013).