Osimhen and Eder Militia of Brazil battle for the ball

FIFA U-17 World cup favorites Brazil were despatched home tonight by defending champions, the Golden Eaglets of Nigeria.

The Eaglets defeated the Samba Boys with an emphatic 3-0 victory, concentrating the fatal damage in five minutes of action in the first half.

Nigeria scored the three goals within five minutes, with hit man  Victor Osimhen leading the goal assault on 29 minutes, and logging his eighth goal of the tournament.

Midfielder  Kingsley Michael slotted in the second goal a minute after, while Udochukwu Anumudu scored again on 34th minute.

Brazil did everything possible to upturn the Nigerian advantage, but all the efforts were in vain.

The Samba Boys had more ball possession than the Eaglets, 51-49 and had more shots at goal than the Nigerians, 21-19.

Osimhen and Michael rejoice after the game

With the damage done to the Brazilians in the first half,  the Golden Eaglets played the rest of the game out at a canter to reach the final four.

Brazil had looked bright in the opening stages, either finding Akpan Udoh in fine form in the Nigerian net or hitting their opportunities off target, with Rogerio and Evander two of the culprits. A Seleção were made to rue those missed opportunities when the lethal Osimhen extended his lead at the top of the goalscoring charts. John Lazarus crossed from the Nigerian right and the Nigerian No9 headed in, via a deflection off Eder Militao.

Moments later, Nigeria doubled their lead, Osimhen instrumental once more. The forward hooked a bouncing ball back over his shoulder, with Michael following in. The ball bounced up off the turf and past Juliano. The Brazilian No1 was deceived by another bounce just four minutes later, as Anumudu hit a left-footed drive from distance. The effort skipped off the turf, and past the stopper, who was visibly unhappy at not keeping the shot out.

The second period saw few clear-cut opportunities, with Funsho Bamgboye and Evander going closest for either side but, in truth, it was a mere procession for the holders to take a step closer to retaining their title. They will head to Concepcion for Thursday’s semi-final against the winner of tomorrow’s quarter-final between Ecuador and Mexico.

*Updated with FIFA report