The national Under-23 team, otherwise known as the Dream Team VI, on Wednesday trounced their Tunisian counterparts 3-0 to avenge the 3-5 defeat they suffered four days ago.
The game, which started on a very high temp, saw coach Samson Siasia making four changes from the team that lost the first game.
New comers – Stanley Amuzie, Freedom Omofonma, Tonbara Tiongoli and Peter Onyekachi – made their presence felt from the blast of the whistle.
Striker Onyekachi was a thorn in the flesh of the Tunisians, putting them under so much pressure, while Tonbara was a handful for the defence line of the opponents.
But if these players were a marvel, the defence got more stability with the introduction of Stanley Amuzie, who kept the attackers of Tunisia at bay and was a force in attack.
In one of such moves, Peter Onyekachi was fouled in the 18-yard box of the hosts, making the referee to award a penalty, which was converted by Oghenekaro Etebo in the 31st minute.
With the massive support from the few Nigerians led by Nigeria’s ambassador to Tunisia, Dr. Joseph Omede, and members of staff of the embassy at the El Menzah Stadium, the Dream Team VI took control of all departments of the game, piling pressure but could not get any goal before the end of the first half.
On resumption of the second half, the Dream Team VI pinned their opponents to their half of the field with midfield marshal, Azubuike Okechukwu, combining well with Etebo to put the Tunisians under intense pressure as Onyekachi punished the Tunisians by scoring the second goal in the 56th minute.
Moments later, Siasia took out Freedom Omofoman and brought in Savior Godwin.
This change galvanized Nigeria’s attack as the Tunisians conceded another penalty. Etebo however missed the spot kick in the 70th minute.
But Godwin Saviour was able to put the icing on the cake with the third goal after running down the defence line of the Tunisians to release a thunder of a shot, which the goalkeeper had no answer to.
In his post match chat, Siasia commended his lads for playing to instructions.
“The boys needed this game to boost their morale and confidence and they went all out for it, this victory will make them play harder and hopefully they will play more like a team,” said SiaOne as he is popularly called.