- Nigerian flair. British brawn. England are FIFA U-20 champions
Fifty-one years after winning the FIFA World Cup — its first and only full international silverware thus far — England just won the FIFA U-20 World Cup. But it took the genius of six Nigerians to do that!
The Brits may have founded what the great Brazilian, Pele, called the beautiful game. But it took the Nigerian armada of six — Dominic Solanke, Fikayo Tomori, Joshua Oghenetega Onomah, Ademola Lookman, Ovie Ejaria and Sheyi Ojo — to earn England, perpetual under-performers at club and international levels, their first World Cup glory since the triumph over the then West Germany at Wembley, at the full World Cup, in 1966.
The impact of the Nigerian lads, on the England young Three Lions, is best felt in their semi-final clash with Italy. The three goals, in that 3-1 defeat of Italy, were an all-Nigerian affair: Dominic Solanke scored the first (an invaluable equaliser after going one down) and third goals, while Ademola Lookman, the lad who plays for Everton, scored the second. But the assist for Lookman’s goal came from yet another Nigerian: Sheyi Ojo!
In a tribute to self and native country, Dominic Solanke, Liverpool-bound from Chelsea, grabbed the headlines by winning the Golden Ball (for best player of the championship).
However, Freddie Woodman, the Newcastle goalkeeper, who saved a crucial penalty in the 1-0 win over zestful Venezuela, won the Golden Glove, for the best goalkeeper of the championship, which final was held at the Suwon World Cup Stadium, in South Korea.
Still, this Anglo-Nigerian concert to glory, in the world’s most popular sports, is sweet and sour.
Sweet, because it again, for the umpteenth time, underscores what is common knowledge: Nigeria, despite its near-eternal problems on the political plane, is a prodigiously talented country.
As can be seen from the spread of Nigerians in the glorious England team, no ethnic group holds a monopoly in that talent ensemble.
As Nigerians are the most educated ethnic-immigrants in the United States, hardly a day passes without the news of a Nigerian breaking new grounds; emerging the best in their graduating sets, in universities all over the world. And the irrepressible Nigerian spirit — Kechi Okwuchi, 28, a 16-year old survivor of the 2005 Sosoliso airplane crash in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, just appeared on America’s Got Talents show, wowing the judges, the audience and the viewers on television!
But sour, because it takes foreign organisation and discipline to nurture the natural flair of these Nigerians into a winning squad. In FIFA age-grade competitions, Nigeria has lugged quite a record, winning the U-17 version four times, with back-to-back wins as late as 2013 and 2015. But Nigeria has never won the U-20 version, thus fuelling speculations that some of those wins were products of age-cheating.
The England win, therefore, again focuses attention on Nigeria’s shambolic sports organisation. For excellence, talent is never enough, though it is a key raw material. For Nigeria and Britain, its former colonial master, then, it’s a dramatic contrast: Nigeria is spoilt for talent but its organisation is awful. Britain has dreadful talent but its organisation is tick-tock. The clinical mix of the two was the Suwon showcase: England, FIFA U-20 World champions!
Nigeria should learn a lot from the England triumph. Nigerian sports needs far better organisation to make it compete and prevail against the best in the globe.
Its political economy too craves superb organisation, to forge it into the dream country it, with a lot more discipline, could easily have been.
