Golden Eaglets Earn Dramatic Draw as U17 World Cup Kicks Off

Nigeria this evening overturned a three goal deficit to claim a thrilling draw against Germany in a rain delayed Group A encounter while Argentina edged past Honduras in the opening match as the FIFA U17 World Cup kicked off today.

Sergio Araujo's lone goal just before the hour mark proved enough for Argentina to beat Honduras in the opening match played at the Abuja National Stadium, leaving the young South Americans top of Group A ahead of hosts and defending champions Nigeria and Germany that shared six goals evenly.

That match however had to be delayed for 30 minutes to allow the Abuja pitch drain the rain that made the final minutes of the opening match barely playable but from inception, the Germans had control of the encounter and it was no surprise when Lennart Thy headed the European champions in front after 21 minutes.

Defender Mustafi added a second for Germany five minutes to half time though Nigeria could easily have conceded more if not for the heroics of the goalkeeper Paul who spared the blushes of his lapse defenders.

He however could not help prevent Goetze from making scores 3-0 barely two minutes into the second half and it seemed the hosts would begin the competition on a disastrous note only for German defender Lubas to get a straight red card for his challenge on Okoro who was through on goal.

Okoro converted the resultant penalty to shine a glimmer of hope that soon became a clear sight on victory as the Golden Eaglets scored two more goals in quick succession and come on level terms within a dozen minutes.

Poor finishing however robbed Nigeria of a decisive fourth goal though both countries saw goal bound efforts crash off the post within a minute of each other during stoppage time to ensure a frenetic end to the encounter.

In another match played today, Switzerland made a memorable debut as the Europeans defeated Costa Rica 2-0 in a Group B encounter played in Lagos at the Teslim Balogun Stadium.