Nigeria and Tahiti entered Monday’s match in the Confederations Cup
knowing that they would need a big performance in their opening game to
keep pace with Spain in Group B to keep alive potential hopes of
advancing. While the loser of the opening match would not be eliminated,
they would face a real uphill battle to get by Spain and Uruguay to
advance past the group stages.
Tahiti was the darling of the tournament with everyone looking to see
how they would perform in their first major appearance in a big time
tournament, but they stumbled early and Nigeria was to easily cruise to
victory. Within the first thirty minutes of the game, the Super Eagles
already had a 3-0 lead thanks to the opening goal by Elderson and two
goals shortly after by Nnamdi Oduamadi.
Tahiti was able to have one shining moment in the 54th minute
when Jonathan Tehau hit a beautiful header in to the back of the net.
Team Fenua may have still been down, but the goal was an achievement
that they took much pride in.
Unfortunately for the Tahitians, Nigeria was able to come right back
and score another goal that allowed them to extend their lead back to
three goals. Nigeria capped off the game with another goal
from Oduamadi, which completed his hat trick on the afternoon, and
finally a second goal from Elderson.
The final score of the game was 6-1.
Tahiti put together a spirited effort, but they were simply
outmatched and the stage seemed to big. At least they were able to score
a moral victory with their one gal, which was all they could ask for
coming in to the tournament.
For Nigeria, they looked like they were playing as a group of
individuals rather than a complete team. They began to click at the end
of the game, but they will need a much more complete effort in their
next to games. When they face off against teams like Spain and Uruguay,
their current strategy just won’t cut it.
Nigeria’s next match up will be against Uruguay on Thursday, while
Team Fenua faces their toughest test of the tournament against Spain in
what could turn in to an ugly match.
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