FIFA U17 WORLD CUP FINAL: MALI U17 VS NIGERIA U17: MALI BATTLES NIGERIA AS THE EAGLETS ARE SET TO BREAK A 30 YEARS JINX.

The golden eaglets are set to defend their trophy they won in the UAE against the reigning african champions, Mali. The four times world champions, Nigeria have failed each time to defend their U17 trophy but they hope to break that jinx aginst the reigning african Champion. The Malians on the other hand are in their maiden U17 final.

The golden eaglet won their maiden trophy in China '85, the second in Japan '93, third in South Korea 2007 and the last one in UAE 2013, and they've in all occasions failed to defend their trophy which has made the jinx span almost 30 years.

Nigeria and Mali easily dispatched Mexico and Belgium in the semifinal 4-2 and 3-1 respectively which has in turn set the ground for an all-african final.

The golden eaglets have been impressive during this tournament as they have recorded 5 wins and have only been beaten once in the group stage aginst Croatia. The malians on the other hand have also been impressive as they have recorded 5 wins and a draw in the group stage against Belgium. In one sentence, it is a match of the best attacking side against the best defensive side.

The goalscoring exploits of both teams has been equally amazing as Nigeria has scroed 21 goals while leting in just 5 in 6 games against 12 goals scored and 2 goals conceded in 6 matches by Mali. By virtue of thesee stats, it is evident that the Nigerians have their strength in attack and weakness in defense unlike the Malians whose strength lie in defence and are relatively weak attack-wise.

The unraveling star in the camp of the eaglets is none other than Victor Osimhen who has successfully found the back of the net nine times, equalling the record held by Souleymane Coulibaly and Florent Sinama-Pongolle of France and Ivory Coast respectively. A goal in the final will see him become the all-time top goalscorer in the history of the competition.
For the Malian party, they can bank on Amadou Haidara. Haidara and his Malian team mates could become champions on Sunday when they take on Nigeria in an all-African final. The young striker has caught the eye with his technique and could also be
lifting the trophy by the end of the day.

The match is set to hold on sunday, 8th of November, 2015 at the Estadio Sausalito in the city of Vina Del Mar, Chile. The time for the match is 7.00pm (11pm Nigerian Time) with the English referee, Michael Oliver, the match official.


By Mustapha Abdul-Raheem.