U17 World Cup: Late Nigeria onslaught overwhelms brave Hungary

Márk Komáromi's early opener was cancelled out by Samson Tijani's 18th-minute penalty but Samuel Major's well-taken, curling effort from outside the penalty area restored Hungary's lead for nearly an hour until three goals in seven minutes punished a tiring team.

Regular captain Patrik Posztobányi had to settle for a spot on the substitutes' bench, having failed to recover from a minor niggle, so his central-defensive partner Botond Balogh took the captain's armband and Milan Horváth came into the heart of defence. Preisinger therefore lined his team up in a 4-3-3 formation which certainly put them on the front foot from the outset.

Indeed, Márk Komáromi propelled Hungary into a sensational third-minute lead when Dávid László's deep cross from the left wing eluded the Nigeria defence and found the Puskás Akadémia forward alone at the back post, at which point he duly knocked the ball past Daniel Jinadu - clubmate of Hungarian goalkeeper Krisztián Hegyi at West Ham United - in the Nigeria goal.

However, Donát Orosz contrived to err in the 18th minute when he pulled back Wisdom Ubani inside the penalty area and the referee pointed to the spot, Nigeria captain Samson Tijani sending Hegyi the wrong way and slotting the ball into the bottom left corner of the net to level the scores at 1-1.

Hungary, buoyed by plenty of success with their pressing game, were soon back in the ascendancy though, Samuel Major pouncing on slack play in the Nigerian defence in the 28th minute and firing the ball first-time past Jinadu's outstretched left hand from the edge of the area to restore his team's advantage.

Nigeria were noticeably quicker in sprints but Preisinger's team were commendably compact and discipined in defence, limiting the five-time U17 world champions to shots from distance, and usually hurriedly inaccurate ones at that.

Thus Hungary led 2-1 at the break and Posztobányi's appearance as a half-time substitute must have further boosted the team's hopes of retaining their advantage. Moreover, they nearly increased it in the 52nd minute but Komáromi's 20-metre shot following a half-clearance from a corner dribbled wide when it seemed for a second as if a lingering Hungary forward might latch onto it in front of goal.

The pattern for the second half had been set, with Nigeria continuing their relative dominance in possession and territory while Hungary relied on diligent protection of the penalty area and occasional, incisive counter-attacks to maintain a presence in the game.

Still, the West African nation persevered with long-range efforts but none of them were even close to troubling Hegyi in goal. All over the pitch, Hungarian willingness to close down space, deprive their opponents' of time on the ball and use the ball as well as possible meant they preserved their narrow lead for more than half an hour.

Something changed in the last fifteen minutes though and suddenly, without warning, Hungary were under extreme pressure. Akinkunmi Amoo's left-wing cross from the right was flicked toward the net but Hegyi blocked brilliantly. Then, Hungary had Orosz to thank for a last-ditch intervention which prevented a close-range effort on goal. From the resulting corner though, Preisinger's charges finally succumbed, Ibrahim Said's inswinging set-piece from the left missed by a punching Hegyi and headed in by a gleeful Usman Ibrahim.

Unfortunately, the wind in Nigeria's sails hadn't blown itself out just yet and within two minutes they had moved into the lead for the first time in the match, a left-wing cross headed in at the back post by Oluwatimilehin Adeniyi in the 81st minute.

Naturally, Hungary had to come out in search of a late equaliser but it was too late to instantly change their tactics so dramatically and furthermore, Lady Luck had deserted them too, Tijani's free-kick from a central position five minutes from time deflecting off the Hungarian defensive wall and wrong-footing a stranded Hegyi as the ball spun into the far left side of the goal.

Despite an encouraging three-quarters of the game, Hungary had to therefore accept a frustrating 4-2 defeat in their opening fixture, a loss they will hope to put behind them in their next group fixture against Australia at midnight on Wednesday.

"Everyone was tired at the end, the opponent too. We put a huge amount of energy into protecting our goal because we were up against a more dynamic team. Two individual errors allowed Nigeria to turn the match around and this (is how they) caught the team. We have two more matches to secure the points we need to progress from the group", Sándor Preisinger stated after the match.

FIFA U17 World Cup in Brazil
Nigeria 4–2 Hungary (HT: 1–2)

Nigeria: Jinadu – Ibrahim, Ikenna, Etim – Sa’id, Ojediran, Tijani, Opeyemi – Adeniyi, Olsegun – Ubani (Bichi, 75.).
Hungary (surnames first): Hegyi Krisztián - Orosz Donát, Balogh Botond, Horváth Milán, László Dávid - Kata Mihály, Ominger Gergő (Posztobányi Patrik, 46.), Kosznovszky Márk - Komáromi György, Németh András, Major Sámuel.
Goalscorers: NGA: Tijani 20 (pen), 85; Ibrahim 79; Adeniyi 81; HUN: Komáromi 4., Major 28.