Nigeria progressed to the
quarter-finals at the Men’s Olympic Football Tournament Rio 2016 after a 1-0
victory over Sweden in Group B thanks to a Sadiq Umar header at the Amazonia
Arena in Manaus. Umar Sadiq Umar’s header that sealed the day for the Dream
Team For a large part of the match both sides were playing conservatively but
Nigeria certainly looked the most threatening in attack. Fresh from scoring
four goals last time out, Oghenekaro Etebo attempted several shots in the
half—with his right foot, left foot and with his head—but he was unable to get
the better of Sweden goalkeeper Andreas Linde. Nigeria eventually found the
opener six minutes from time, when Stanley Amuzie delivered a pinpoint, curling
cross in open play from the left wing that found Umar and the Roma man made no
mistake, scoring with a diving header. The Dream Team continued their dominance
in the second half, and just three minutes in, captain John Obi Mikel took had
a well-driven shot from the top of the area saved by Linde. The Swedish
goalkeeper had to be alert four minutes later when Etebo dribbled inside the
corner of the penalty box and attempted a curling effort, but once again, Linde
saved. Coach Hakan Ericson did use all three of his substitutes—Ken Sema,
Muamer Tankovic and Jacob Une Larsson to try and give his team a new dimension
but, in the end, Nigeria’s backline was up to the challenge and held on to all
three points. On Wednesday, Nigeria will close out group play against Colombia
in Sao Paulo, while Sweden have a must-win match ahead against Japan in
Salvador if they are going to continue their Rio 2016 journey.
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