Aston Villa starlet becomes second player of Nigerian descent to score in U19 Euro final

Aston Villa midfielder Carney Chukwuemeka has become only the second player of Nigerian descent to score in a final of the European U19 Championship.

The highly-rated midfielder played a huge role as the Young Lions were crowned 2022 champions on Friday night, after coming from behind to defeat Israel 3-1 after extra time.

In the 107th minute, Chukwuemeka bundled home Harvey Vale's excellent cross to make it 2-1.

And in doing so, he emulated Manchester City academy product and Anglo-German-Nigerian striker Lukas Nmecha, who netted the winning goal for the Young Lions in a 2-1 victory over Portugal at the 2017 U19 Euro.

Having played for England at U16, U17, U18, U19, U20 and U21 levels, Nmecha is now cap-tied to his country of birth Germany, but was eligible to represent the Super Eagles five years ago when he scored the important goal against Portugal.

Chukwuemeka could be a candidate for Player of the Tournament after his crucial goals and assists helped England win their second U19 title.

The 18-year-old was involved in two goals against Austria and repeated the same feat in the following game against Serbia.

Former Arsenal fullback Daniel Oyegoke and Tim Iroegbunam also featured in yesterday's showpiece against Israel.

Ifeanyi Emmanuel

Photo Credit : uefa.com

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