Debutants Switzerland were not at all troubled by the 60,000-plus hostile fans in Abuja�s hulking National Stadium, beating hosts and holders Nigeria 1-0 in the capital to hoist aloft the FIFA U-17 World Cup trophy on Sunday.
The win, which came thanks to a steely defensive effort and a second-half header by Haris Seferovic, marks the first time a Swiss national team � any age, any gender � has ever laid claim to a FIFA title.
The hosts came out like a house on fire, putting heavy pressure on the Swiss and creating a handful of scoring chances inside the opening five minutes. First, Abdul Ajagun � hero of the quarter-final with the Koreans in Calabar � hit a wicked shot from 18 yards that Charyl Chappuis had to clear off the line. The Dolphin striker then repeated the dose just seconds later to give the Switzerland defence a real scare. Next, and after just four minutes, Aigbe Oliha�s effort from distance had Swiss goalkeeper Benjamin Siegrist scrambling to turn it away.
A lengthy pause in the action � with injuries to Ajagun and Siegrist after a collision � marked the moment when the Swiss finally carved out their first chance. Predictably, it came on the end of a counter-attack in the 12th minute. Defender Janick Kamber roared into the attack and forced the diminutive Nigerian net-minder Dami Paul into a fine diving save.
Things settled down a bit after a ferocious opening quarter-hour, but the smashing and dynamic Nigerians continued to pile pressure on their stunned hosts. A nice piece of service from the right, after some fine interplay between Edafe Egbedi and Oliha, nearly picked out Sani Emmanuel. But the supersub-turned-starter failed to make proper contact with his header from six yards. With a little over five minutes to go in the opening period, Ramon Azeez had a good chance from a set-piece that he could only manage to blaze over the bar.
Creating all the chances, but failing to convert, the Nigerians � who had an excellent chance through Emmanuel late in the dying moment � went into the changing rooms looking a little nervous, while the Swiss were happy just to be all-square.
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