Monday, 1 June 2015

Flying Eagles Handed Baptism Of Fire By Brazil

It's probably a safe bet to assume neither Brazil or Nigeria will leave New Zealand with the best defensive records in the Fifa U-20 World Cup but they look set to exit with their attacking reputations intact.


The two sides put on an exciting display of counter attacking football at Stadium Taranaki on Monday before Brazil finally came out of their Group E match 4-2 victors.

Whether it is their youth or simply their upbringing that dictates their lack of cautiousness, both sides look set to be at the front of the queue when conversations about style and counter attacking are brought up in relation to this tournament.

It took just four minutes for Brazil to set the tone of the first half after defender Joao Pedro pushed forward and found plenty of space down the right hand side. From there he found Gabriel Jesus who finished with some authority.

Far from concerned at conceding early, Nigeria also confidently pushed forward and found an equal amount of space behind the Brazil back four, creating a couple of early opportunities before Success Isaac equalised just moments after they had hit the post.

Such was the frantic nature of the opening 20 minutes, both sides combined to clock up 10 shots at goal.

With those sort of chances being created it was inevitable the score would increase.

It did, Nigeria taking a deserved lead when a counter attack started by keeper Joshua Enaholo caught Brazil out easily as Musa Yahaya calmly finished to make it 2-1 just before the half hour mark.

Brazil do not have a reputation for taking stock of the situation, however, as they took hold of a good period of possession to create several clear chances.

They then equalised 10 minutes before the break through Judivan after he ran on to a beautiful back heeled pass before finding the back of the net.

While the scored stayed at 2-2 through to the break, Brazil grabbed back their early advantage when halftime substitute Boschilla tried his luck from distance, somehow managing to squeeze his low drive off the right hand post and into the net.

Although some would argue the goal should have been stopped, it was a classic example of the bravado these young men are prepared to play with and Boschilia got the reward for not only being audacious but being accurate enough to take advantage of a chance he created.

Nigeria continued to press, committing numbers forward in an attempt to equalise.

They came agonisingly close, too, seeing the ball cleared off the line before a cruel keeping mistake virtually shut them out of the game as Enaholo let the ball slip from his grasp allowing Judivan to grab his second as he tapped in while virtually horizontal with the line.

Although they continued to press and create chances, Brazil started their campaign for a sixth under-20 title in typical attacking style.

Brazil coach Rogerio Micale thought they offered nigeria far too much space in the first half, particularly through the midfield. once they improved that in the send spell they could play a much higher defensive line.

"We will keep playing like this [high defensive line] and hopefully we will improve in the other matches because the guys will be more used to each other," he said.

His opposite, Nigeria's Manu Garba thought the final score did not reflect the match. He was disappointed by the concession of two of Brazil's goals which he said simply should not have been scored." 

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