Nigeria’s U-17 team lost the cup they won two years ago to Switzerland, but this does not diminish the country’s stature in youth soccer

Nigeria narrowly missed winning the FIFA U-17 Cup which was held in the countr between October 24 to November 15. It lost to Switzerland 0 – 1 in the final match.But Nigeria's failure to successfully defend the FIFA U-17 trophy it won two years ago contrary to popular expectation did not diminish the country’s pedigree in the competition. FIFA’s archives are replete with the exploits of the Golden Eaglets over time in the age-grade competition.

Even before the tournament, it was rated second after Brazil in the U-17 overall ranking. The country is also in the record books alongside Brazil for lifting the trophy thrice in 1985, 1993 and 2007.

The 13th edition held in Nigeria is Nigeria’s ninth appearance at the tournament. That also is the best appearance by an African nation. Hitherto, Ghana, with 43 matches, had the highest number of match outings at the tournament. But the fellow West African nation did not make it to the 2009 edition.  So, Nigeria with 50 match appearances emerged the top African side to have played the most matches in a FIFA U-17 tournament.

That is not all. With 29 wins from 42 matches, Nigeria has won the highest percentage among teams who have played at least ten games in the competition by scoring 69 percent.

Also, Nigeria holds a record of seven consecutive clean slates at the U-17 competition for playing for 830 minutes between 1989 and 1993 without conceding a goal. This feat was achieved because Nigeria played 16 matches from 1987 to 1995 without losing a match.

Celestine Babayaro, Kanu Nwankwo, Wilson Oruma, Mobi Oparaku and Emmanuel Babayaro, are the five players who achieved the double feat of winning the Olympic medal and the U-17 championship for the country. Among the top five players with the fastest goals in the history of the game, Nigeria’s Kanu and Oruma had pride of place by being in the 3rd and 4th positions after scoring in the 39th and 59th minute respectively during different matches played during Japan 1993. Oruma also left the tournament with the Adidas Golden Shoe for scoring the highest goals in the tournament. He had scored six goals. Nigeria also won the Adidas Golden Boot award. The 1993 edition was Nigeria’s best outing because it swept all the top awards at the competition. Nigeria also won the FIFA Fair Play Award. This recognition is given to the team with the best record of fair playbased on the points system and criteria established by the FIFA Fair Play Committee. Nigeria also won it for its fairness and sportsmanship in Nigeria 2009.

Among players who scored hat-tricks in the competition so far are Kanu and Phillip Osunbor. Osunbor scored his hat-trick during Nigeria’s encounter against Bolivia on July 14, 1987 while Kanu’s occurred on August 22, 1993 during Nigeria’s match against Canada. Osunbor won the Adidas Golden Ball in 1987 for being the most outstanding player in the tournament.

Wilson Oruma, Jonathan Akpoborire and Osunbor scored in the third, fourth and eleventh minute respectively at separate FIFA U-17 tournaments to log in their names among the players who scored the fastest goals in the final of the competition.

Sebastian Broderick-Imasuen was the second most featured coach at the U-17 championship for coaching the Nigerian side to the competition four times, 1985, 1987, 1989 and 1995. Juan Santisteban, coached Spain to the tournament on seven occasions but did not finish higher than second in 1991 and 2003. He took Spain to the tournament in all its outings from 1991 to 2007. He also coached the side to Nigeria 2009.

In other records, Femi Opabunmi’s name is listed as being one of the topmost scorers of penalty kicks in the tournaments with two goals in 2001 while Nigeria was eliminated in the 1989 edition without losing a match after two wins and two draws

FIFA’s statistics also show that among these enviable records, the Nigerian side lifted all its three previous U-17 FIFA trophy on Asian soil. In 1985, it lifted the maiden edition of the trophy in China. In 1993, the Golden Eaglets won it again in Japan and in South Korea 2007, the Nigerian side was the champions of the competition.

During the debut edition of the competition, then called FIFA Under-16 competition, the Nigerian “Baby Eagles” defeated Germany 2-0 in an historic final to become the champions for the first time. That competition also listed Nigeria as being among the countries that attracted the largest number of spectators because the match between Nigeria and Italy in Dalian, China attracted a full-capacity attendance of 35,000 spectators.

In 1993, the final was an all-Africa affair as the Golden Eaglets lifted the trophy for a second time in Japan by defeating Ghana, 2-1.

In 2007, Asian soil was also where the country won the tournament for a third time by defeating Spain after playing goalless at regulation time and extra time of 30 minutes. Eventually, Nigeria won 3-0 on penalties. The country won the Golden and Silver ball through Macaulay Chrisantus. Chrisantus, with seven goals, is third in line of the highest U-17 goalscorers of all time after Marcel Witeczek who scored eight goals in 1985 and Florent Sinama Pongolle with nine goals in 2001.

Nigeria is also listed in FIFA history books as one of the countries which won a match with the highest goal tallies. This feat was also achieved on the Asian soil; it white-washed Canada 8-0 in a match during Japan 1993.