Izuchukwu OkosiThe Flying Eagles of Nigeria on Sunday evening were beaten 1-0 by South Korea in their quarterfinals clash of the 2023 FIFA U-20 World Cup in Argentina at the Stadio Del Estero.
The Nigerian U-20 side were making its 13th appearance in the history of the tournament and has reached the final on two occasions, 1989 in Portugal and in 2005 when a young Lionel Messi led the young Argentina side to lift the title at the expense of Nigeria.
Join our WhatsApp ChannelThe Flying Eagles midway through the first half created some decent chances but none of them found goal.
The second half also ended in a stalemate but the Koreans broke the deadlock five minutes into the extra time through Seokhyun Choi who evaded the challenge of Kehinde Ibrahim and Benjamin Fredrick to head home.
Second substitute Umeh Emmanuel who was the liveliest of the substitutes that came off the bench twice went close to restoring parity but blazed wide and hit the side netting.
South Korea will face Italy in one of the semifinals matches of the tournament on Thursday.
The Asians defeated Ecuador to reach the quarterfinals while Nigeria outclassed tournament favorites and hosts Argentina to book the ‘last 8’ berth.
Coach Ladan Bosso also led the U-20 side to the quarterfinals stage during his first stint on charge of the team when he led them to the 2007 FIFA U-20 World Cup in Canada.
The Nigerian team is expected back in the country on Tuesday.
Izuchukwu Okosi is a Nigerian sports and entertainment journalist with two decades of experience in the media industry having begun his media journey in 2002 as an intern at Mundial Sports International (MSI) and Africa Independent Television (AIT), owners of Daar Communications Plc.
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