Stars Of The Future

Nigeria: By far, the most shocking result of the ongoing 12th FIFA U-17 World Cup tagged Nigeria 2009, is the 1-0 defeat of mighty Brazil by Switzerland. Who would have imagined that result when favourites and minnows were being identified by pundits at the start of the tourney? As the Swiss celebrated wildly at the Abuja National Stadium in their first ever win at any level against unarguably the best football nation in the world, one reasons that the country which houses the headquarters of world soccer governing body FIFA in Zurich, may finally be coming to the realisation that it can do more in soccer than just being a glorified soccer headquarters. That has been the beauty of this school boys World Cup that Nigerians who were neither motivated nor mobilised for the tourney have started turning up at the eight centres of the tourney to let off social-economic steam heaped on the them by the system.

Thrillers So Far
Since the competition started, the best 24 youth soccer nations of the world have been thrilling fans in Nigeria and those watching on television across the world with scintillating skills that underlines while soccer will continue to be the number one sports in the world till the kingdom comes. One such thriller was Nigeria’s opening game against Germany which ended 3-3. The irony of that game was the ease with which the Germans tore into the Eaglets at the start, forcing fans in Abuja to turn against their team by booing the Eaglets. By the time the Eaglets knew what hit them, they were down 3-0 but the natural resilience of the Nigerian took over and excitement returned as they rallied back to pick a draw from the explosive match. In fact, if that game had lasted a bit longer the Nigerians may have had the last laugh. Another thriller, maybe the best game so far in the tourney, was the game between Spain and The United States in the soccer-crazy city of Kano. The action-packed encounter lived up to the billing when the USA took the lead to put one of the title favourites on the brink of early departure from the tourney. Matters were made worse when a Spaniard was red-carded midway into the encounter. Ironically, that was what turned the game on its head, as Spainpiled pressure after pressure until they got an equaliser and eventually won the game with the fans in Kano yearning for more. Of course, the game between Switzerland and Brazil had to be counted a thriller for the Swiss to win and take a hundred per cent record to the knock-out stages of the competition. Even, the usually docile Abuja fans could not help but cheer every nice move and jeer the bad ones that at a point one thought they didn’t know which team was better on the cool Friday evening in the Nigerian capital city.

Potential Semi-Finalists
Switzerland may not have come to this tournament as European champions, that distinction belonged to German, but they are certainly one of the favourites to pick up the trophy after their group games heroics. As one of the few teams that had a hundred per cent record in the tournament, the Swiss, should be so listed because for their robust play, determination and fluidity not often associated with Scandinavian football. The Golden Eaglets have also been showing some elements of excellence associated with youth soccer in Nigeria. From a 3-3 draw in its opening game it has gone on to beat Honduras 1-0 and Argentina 2-1. For a team that has three
wins over twelve in the competition you have to take them seriously but the big question is whether the Eaglets can overcome stage fright that they are often subjected by an over-expectant nation. Spain is also another potential in the competition. The rich youth culture of the country and the fact that they have players from soccer academies of such famous teams as Real Madrid, Barcelonaand Valencia makes the team a most dangerous customer in the tourney. Argentina has also shown that it has the potential to go all the way, same as European champions Germany , Turkey and Italy . These famous footballing countries will have to be at their best to overcome a team as resilient as Switzerland in this competition.