Zubairu, however, acknowledged that his team will have to beat Columbia to progress to the next round.
By Kehinde Okeowo
Flying Eagles head coach, Aliyu Zubairu, has said his team edged past Saudi Arabia in their second group game of the 2025 FIFA Under-20 World Cup because they were determined to stay in the competition.
He made this known on Friday morning
while speaking with FIFA.com after the match.
TheNiche had earlier reported that Nigeria defeated Saudi Arabia 3-2 in the thrilling contest played at the Estadio Fiscal de Talca in Chile.
Goals from Nasiru Salihu, Amos Ochoche and captain, Daniel Bameyi gave the West Africans the crucial victory after an earlier defeat to Norway in the first game.
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While analysing the crucial encounter, Zubairu hailed his players for showing great determination and earning the process win.
He, however, acknowledged that they will have to beat Columbia in their next match to progress to the next stage.
Zubairu said, “The players made up their minds that they had to go all out for the three points here, and that is what motivated them.
“Now it’s simple: we have to go all out for the three points against Colombia. It’s as simple as that.”
