Nigeria 3-2 Saudi Arabia: Five observations from Flying Eagles' thrilling win over the Falcons

Nigeria's Flying Eagles secured a dramatic 3-2 victory over Saudi Arabia's Falcons at the FIFA U20 World Cup in Chile, thanks to a late penalty from captain Daniel Bameyi.

Nasiru Saliba opened the scoring with a fine header before Amos Ochoche doubled Nigeria's lead with a stunning strike.

The Saudis twice fought back to level the contest, but Bameyi's composure from the spot in the closing minutes sealed all three points.

Allnigeriasoccer.com presents five observations from the match.

Referee got VAR decisions right

Referee João Pinheiro made two correct calls after Video Assistant Referee interventions in the second half.

First, he rightly denied Saudi Arabia a penalty when Amar bin Hamed Al Yuhaybi went down under pressure from Ahmed Akinyele inside the Nigerian box.

Later, after a VAR review, he awarded Nigeria a decisive penalty in the closing minutes, which captain Daniel Bameyi converted for the winner.

Akinyele struggles in aerial duels

Nigeria's number 5, Ahmed Akinyele, endured a difficult outing before being substituted in the second half.

Akinyele failure to deal with aerial duels ensured Saudi Arabia came back into the game twice in both halves.

His failure to deal with a long ball from the Saudi goalkeeper allowed Amar bin Hamed Al Yuhaybi to score the first equalizer.

Early in the second half, Akinyele was again outjumped, this time by striker Talal Haji, whose header brought the game level for a second time.

With his struggles in aerial duels proving costly, Coach Aliyu Zubairu replaced him in the 60th minute with Haruna Aliyu.

Growing crowd in Talca

The Estadio Fiscal de Talca witnessed a slight increase in attendance compared to previous match against Norway, despite noticable empty seats.

Despite the modest turnout, both teams enjoyed spirited support, marking an improvement from Nigeria's opening game loss to Norway.

Improved second-half display by Saudi Arabia

Despite conceding late on, Saudi Arabia controlled much of the second half.

The Asian side dominated major part of the second half, quickly leveled the score after the restart, having trailed 2-1 at the break.

They came close to taking the lead when Talal's strike rattled the woodwork, but luck was not on their side.

Nigeria, meanwhile, struggled to impose themselves for long spells after halftime and only managed a decisive breakthrough with a late surge that won them the penalty, which ultimately sealed the win.

Potential injury scare for Odinaka Emmanuel Okoro

The Nigerian left-back was taken off in the closing minutes of the game, with Azuka Alatan coming on as his replacement.

His substitution raised concerns of a possible injury after he was seen limping while leaving the pitch, following some confusion on the touchline before the change was made.

Coach Aliyu Zubairu had initially planned to introduce Kamaldeen Abduljelil late in the game but asked the midfielder to return to the bench once he was alerted to the left-back's potential knock.

In the end, the coach decided to withdraw the defender as Nigeria pushed for a winning goal in the dying moments of the match.

Adeyemi Adewale

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