The first Nigerian hat-trick in this tournament was scored by Nkwankwo Kanu 26 years ago, while the last one, notched by Victor Osimhen, in Chile back in 2015.
On Tuesday, Ibrahim Said became the seventh Golden Eaglet to hit the back of the net three times in a U-17 World Cup match more than any other nation in the tournament.
One more goal would have seen him equal another record, that of goals scored in a single game, held jointly by another Nigerian (Kelechi Iheanacho, who tallied four times against Mexico at UAE 2013)
But helping Golden Eaglets to qualify for the round of 16 will likely Ibrahim Said who not getting carried away by encomiums coming his way.
“I just want to make my country proud of the team,” the midfielder told FIFA.com after the match helping Nigeria thrash Ecuador .
Nigeria has good moments in the FIFA U-17 World Cup , not just winning the competition on five different occasions, the country has also produced players who won the tournament’s top individual awards.
Players like Kanu Nwankwo, Wilson Oruma, Celestine Babayaro, Kelechi Iheanacho , Victor Osimhen, Samuel Chuckwueze were the star of their own era and they went to excel in the senior national team.
After two games so far in the tournament in Brazil 2019 , No doubt Ibrahim Said has shown he has the qualities emulate these stars and also to join Philip Osondu, Sanni Emmanuel, Kelechi Iheanacho and Kelechi Nwankali who had walked away with the tournament’s golden ball award.
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