Nigeria, Germany share six-goal Under-17 thriller

Hosts Nigeria fought back from three goals down to force Germany to a 3-3 draw in their opening Group A match of the Under-17 World Cup played at the Abuja National Stadium on Saturday.

The result of the game, where kick-off was delayed by 30 minutes following a heavy downpour, extended Nigeria’s unbeaten run against Germany at this level, having won their previous clashes in 1985 and 2007.

The Golden Eaglets were losing 3-0 after 48 minutes before star player Stanley Okoro pulled a goal back for the defending champions in the 54th minute after Omoh Ojabu had been brought down by Robert Labus.

Labus’ sending-off set the tone for a Nigerian fightback as Kenneth Omeruo and Edafe Egbedi also scored to cancel out goals from Lennart Thy (21min), Shkodran Mustafi (39min) and the lively Mario Goetze (47min).

Argentina lead the group after a hard-fought 1-0 victory over Honduras courtesy of a 58th minute strike by Sergio Araujo in a clash the South Americans dominated.

In Lagos, Switzerland upset Mexico 2-0 in a Group B match with first-half goals from Pajtim Kasami and an own goal by Mexico goalkeeper Jose Rodriguez, while Brazil scraped past Japan 3-2.

Organisers will be hoping for better attendances at the matches particularly in Abuja, where the 60,000-capacity stadium was virtually empty when Argentina played against Honduras.

FIFA officials have expressed concerns over the poor publicity for the tournament, while fans have voiced anger at the high cost of match tickets.