Colombia defeated Nigeria 2-0 in Sao Paulo on Wednesday to reach the quarter –finals of the Men’s Olympic Football Tournament Rio 2016.
1996 champions Nigeria were a shadow of themselves as they lost to Colombia inside the Arena Corinthians in Sao Paulo, but the result mattered only to the South Americans as Nigeria already had a ticket into the last eight before kickoff.
With only two points in their previous two matches, Colombia knew they just had to win and set off like a house on fire, bagging the first goal in the fourth minute as Teofilo Gutierrez raced onto a long ball to beat on –rushing Daniel Akpeyi.
It took an excellent reflex save from Akpeyi in the 19th minute to keep the scoreline the way it was, and five minutes later, Nigeria was again lucky as Akpeyi was teased off his line.
Four –goal Oghenekaro Etebo flashed a shot wide of the post and saw his shot blocked by goalkeeper Bollina as the African champions tried to find a way back into the game.
In the 55th minute, Nigeria should have equalized but Oghenekaro Etebo, Aminu Umar and Umar Sadiq all failed to connect from a Kingsley Madu cross. Seven minutes later, Akpeyi brought down a marauding Colombian forward, and Dorlan Parbon made no mistake from the spot.
Nigeria will play the second –placed team in Group A in Salvador in the quarter –finals, while the Colombians will play Group A’s top team in Sao Paulo.
