08 June 2015 12:03
On 1 June, Nigeria goalkeeper Joshua Enaholo trudged out of New Plymouth’s Stadium Taranaki feeling down in the dumps. His first experience of the FIFA U-20 World Cup New Zealand 2015 had been a sobering one, as he picked the ball out of his net no fewer than four times in the 4-2 loss to Brazil. He was not particularly culpable for the first threeCanarinho goals, but the MFM FC shot-stopper made an utter mess of the fourth, the one that put the game out of reach. “I wasn’t concentrating. The ball was wet and I failed to hold on to it. I have to do better,” he subsequently admitted to FIFA.com.
To compound matters, coach Manu Garba did not mince his words in his post-match press conference: “We carved out the better chances in the first half and we should have led at the break. The first 45 minutes reflected what we’re capable of. We simply made two mistakes that cost us dearly in the second period, which denied us the three points.” There could be little doubt that another slip-up would jeopardise Enaholo’s place as the Flying Eagles’ No1.
By the end of the week, though, the custodian was all smiles as he left the same venue. Not content with starring in the 4-0 victory over Korea DPR three days after the disappointment against the Seleção, Enaholo pulled off more heroics against Hungary. He did not put a foot – or hand – wrong, beginning as early as the third minute, when he dashed out to thwart Group E top scorer Bence Mervo. Other key contributions included full-length dives to keep out Zsombor Berecz in the 69th and 74th minutes, and one last stop from a Laszlo Olah drive with seven minutes to go.
fifa.com
Confederation of African Football (CAF) News
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