By Amosu Adeboye
The Golden Eaglets have been eliminated from the 2019 FIFA U-17 World Cup in Brazil after going down to a 3-1 defeat against the Netherlands in their Round of 16 encounter.
Sontje Hansen scored a hat-trick for the Dutch, while Olakunle Olusegun got Nigeria’s only goal of the game.
Hansen opened scoring for the Netherlands in the fourth minute after he was played through on goal by Jayden Braaf.
The lead lasted only eight minutes before Olusegun equalised for the Golden Eaglets following a superb pass from Akinkunmi Amoo.
The Netherlands however regained the lead in the 15th minute with another fine effort by Jansen.
Nigeria struggled to break down the European champions defence and were also thwarted by the Dutch goalkeeper the few times they were able to get a sight of goal.
Manu Garba’s boys conceded a penalty 12 minutes from time with Ferdinand Ikenna handling the ball inside the box.
Hansen stepped up to take the penalty for his hat-trick despite Daniel Jinadu diving into the right direction.
