A HARD-FOUGHT 1-0 was all that Portugal needed in the pulsating 90 minutes of football action against Nigeria to win the 21-day maiden Jago Lagos Mock World Cup, which ended on Easter Sunday.It was super sub Oliver Edoka Igwebuike, who came on shortly before the commencement of the second half, that separated both teams in the final match at the Federal Housing Authority (FHA) Sports Complex in Festac Town.The utility Igwebuike pounced on a ball spilled by Nigeria's goalkeeper Polongo, who could not handle a shot from Ekeh Patrick, to tap in the decisive goal. Igwebuike would later win the Most Valuable Player award of the final match given that he changed the course of the game after a goalless first half.Portugal's midfielder Okechukwu Okwundu had missed a penalty in the 25th minute of the first half after top scorer Happy Okuoka was brought down in the box by Polongo. Okuoka netted five goals to emerge the tourney's top scorer.On the road to the final, Portugal beat Denmark 3-1, Russia 2-0, Ghana 2-0 and drew 1-1 with Montenegro in the group stage to top the group. In the round of 16, it beat Bulgaria 2-0, sent Gabon packing in the quarter-final and defeated Holland 2-0 in the semi-final.Nigeria, on the other hand, defeated Paraguay 1-0, beat Ireland 2-1, Poland 2-1 and drew goalless with Czech Republic, and in the second round shocked Korea Republic 2-1, beat Uruguay 1-0 in quarter-final and defeated Sweden 5-4 in penalties.Meanwhile, Golden Eaglets' assistant coach and hero of the Tunisia 1994 Africa Nations Cup, Emmanuel Amuneke, who presented the trophy to the captain of the Portuguese team, Raimi Sulaiman, disclosed that he spotted about four players for the Golden Eaglets and would recommend them to his boss, Garba Manu.Anuneke, who was also guest of honour at the tourney, also hinted that there were about three players who would be useful to the Flying Eagles and the Super Eagles. He commended the sponsor of the competition, Jago Milk, and the organizer, Paddysco Sports Limited, for a job well done.He further appealed to other corporate organisations to be part of sports development in the country.
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