Ecuador 1 - 1 Nigeria (392315337)

It had rained all day, but 12000 hardy fans still made it out to Barril de Kunstmann. Ralf Claesson was the appointed referee with assistance provided by Mats Cedertorp and Emmanuel Dousset. U-20 Ecuador tactics involved an interesting 2-5-3 combination. The following players had been chosen: Mena - Cordero, Vega - Montero, Merino, Veintimilla, Guerrero, Comber - Aguilar, Paredes, Vega.

U-20 Nigeria decided to use a 4-5-1 set up. Lineup: Sanko - Babalola, Deo, Opara, Inneh - Uchenna, Mathias, Gambo, Godson, Jess - Udenze.

Today, U-20 Nigeria's strategy involved concentrating on the flanks for their attacks. 6 minutes had elapsed when a great chance for U-20 Ecuador to take the lead after a good cross from the right found J. Paredes alone with the keeper, but he chipped it to the wrong side of the post. The boggy pitch disrupted the game, especially for technical players like J. Aguilar. The home crowd was not impressed by the fancy moves of U-20 Nigeria's J. Mathias after 26 minutes. He converted a pass from the left for a goal, resulting in the visitors taking the 0 - 1 lead. S. Godson did not have a good day today, often losing his footing on the muddy pitch. 0 - 1 was the halftime score. Neither team were able to dominate possession this half.

U-20 Nigeria's P. Jess placed the ball right at his teammate's feet after a corner, but S. Inneh couldn't finish. Having been awarded a free kick in an awkward position after 71 minutes, U-20 Ecuador did not go for a shot but instead fired the ball hard into the 6 yard box. After a brief tussle with his marker, N. Vega was able to power the ball past the keeper to make the score 1 - 1. The game was characterised by rough play and many physical challenges on the wet field, but P. Montero showed great heart and had a good game. 75 minutes into the game, U-20 Ecuador wanted to bring some new energy to their game. N. Vega gave L. Foga a quick hug as he left the field. 80 minutes into the game, J. Mathias was a hair's breadth away from giving U-20 Nigeria the lead with a shot from over on the left. A prompt block by G. Mena saved the home team that time. As the match clock reached 82 minutes, U-20 Ecuador's organisation began to suffer due to a lack of experience. Possession in the forty-five minutes was dominated by U-20 Nigeria, with 51 percent of the ball.

U-20 Ecuador's top performer was clearly J. Aguilar. However, J. Comber made a disastrous appearance. C. Udenze performed admirably for U-20 Nigeria. S. Uchenna on the other hand, had a terrible day. The match ends 1 - 1.