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Joeys into last 16 of soccer World Cup

3 minute read

Australia scored a breakthrough win against Nigeria to progress to the round of 16 at the showpiece event.

Australia's under-17 men's soccer team have progressed to the knockout phase of World Cup after securing a 2-1 victory over Group B winners Nigeria at the Estadio Bezerrao in Brasilia.

A brace from TSG 1899 Hoffenheim attacker Noah Botic - the former National Premier League striker's third and fourth goals of the tournament - ensured Australia defeated the five-time U/17 World Cup winning nation to seal progression as one of the competition's four best third-placed sides.

Nigeria are regular powerhouses at youth international level, and the victory for Trevor Morgan's side marked Australia's first win over the African nation at the U/17 World Cup in seven attempts.

Australia will now face either the winner of Group C (France, Chile or Korea Republic) or Group D (Senegal or Japan) in the last 16 of the tournament next week.

"We came here to win games and, although Nigeria were fantastic, we got the result," Morgan said post-match. "It's a plus for the boys, for their commitment and belief to come here and play a top team and win."

"We played an excellent team with great quality and great physical capacity (but) the boys were able to keep concentrating, keep working, and in the end the result was fantastic for us."