National Team Friendly

National Stadium
Spectators: 10300 (Terracing: 7725, Seating: 2369, VIP seats: 206) The field was rather wet after several days of rain when Madukaife Uchefuna took the kick off in the first half of the match. Oluchukwu Akintunde made a fantastic save in the 3rd minute, when Filipp Yakovenko sent off a good shot on target. Oluchukwu Akintunde was a little too slow when Valentin Kalaganov got a fine hit on the ball which went right into the goal in the 4th minute. The score was now 1-0. Ozioma Chinatu was astounded when the referee showed him the red card after a seemingly innocent challenge, 10 minutes into the match. Ozioma Chinatu hit a great freekick 10 minutes into the match. U21 Russia's Pablo Caballero played magnificently when he managed to stop the ball from hitting the goal, after a sharp shot by Nino Jaka Jamba in the 16th minute of play. After taking down the ball on U21 Nigeria's corner Ozuluonye Ogunsanya fired away a hard shot, but the defenders efficiently covered the most dangerous angles and Pablo Caballero quite easily take care of the ball. Oluchukwu Akintunde was out of position in the 20 minute of play, and Artur Latypov capitalized on the mistake with a soft shot into the goal. Artur Latypov really showed his touch with that goal: 2-0. A collision led to U21 Nigeria getting a freekick after 27 minutes play. Idoko Olagunju hit a great ball. In the 36th minute, Filipp Yakovenko hit a crossing free kick to the open man running down the field. Pablo Caballero showed brilliant goalkeeper skills when he caught the ball after a hard shot from Nino Jaka Jamba in the 40th minute of the match. 41 minutes into the match, U21 Nigeria's goalkeeper Oluchukwu Akintunde had to clear away a ball on his right side after a cunning shot by Artur Latypov. Eberechukwu Ohai sent away a hard shot on goal in the 47th minute, but the ball went just over the crossbar and out. A very good chance. All the noise was coming from the home fans when the whistle went for half-time. The home team had fought hardest to put themselves in a deserved lead.

Both teams looked relatively alert before the second half when the referee blew his whistle to tell Filipp Yakovenko to make the kick off. U21 Russia's attacker deliberately struck the ball against an opponent to win a corner for his team. The corner was taken by Valentin Kalaganov in the 55th minute. Valentin Kalaganov made a great header on U21 Russia's corner, it was just that U21 Nigeria's Oluchukwu Akintunde managed to reach the ball for a save. In the 57th minute Filipp Yakovenko shot on, it seemed, an open goal, but Oluchukwu Akintunde saw the ball coming and threw himself on it before it passed the goal line. Pablo Caballero was a little too slow when Nino Jaka Jamba got a fine hit on the ball which went right into the goal in the 58th minute. The score was now 2-1. U21 Nigeria made a substitution. Yinka Amenechi replaced Madukaife Uchefuna. U21 Nigeria made a substitution. Amuchechukwu Isiaka replaced Ozuluonye Ogunsanya. In the 65th minute, U21 Russia's goalie took a deep sigh of relief after Nino Jaka Jamba fired away a hard shot that went just outside the left post. Oluchukwu Akintunde showed brilliant goalkeeper skills when he caught the ball after a hard shot from Artem Remin in the 67th minute of the match. U21 Nigeria's Oluchukwu Akintunde played magnificently when he managed to stop the ball from hitting the goal, after a sharp shot by Valentin Kalaganov in the 69th minute of play. An unexpectedly hard shot by Valentin Kalaganov in the 71st minute of play forced U21 Nigeria's goalkeeper Oluchukwu Akintunde to throw himself to the left, to be able to save the ball. Amuchechukwu Isiaka scored 2-2 in the 72nd match minute with a shot that went into the goal to the right of Pablo Caballero, who was just a little too slow in reacting to the shot. U21 Russia's Oleg Igin was substituted for Anatoliy Losev. U21 Russia's Yuriy Rybakov was substituted for Filipp Yakovenko. U21 Russia's German Bystrov was substituted for Valentin Kalaganov. Artem Osokin hit a great freekick 78 minutes into the match. Oluchukwu Akintunde showed brilliant goalkeeper skills when he caught the ball after a hard shot from German Bystrov in the 79th minute of the match. With his leg Pablo Caballero managed to avoid a goal in the 80thth minute, when U21 Nigeria's Nino Jaka Jamba fired away a shot with a lot of spin towards his right hand side. If Amuchechukwu Isiaka had kept his shot down it would have been a goal in the 85th minute. The ball went over the crossbar and out instead. After some careless play in the U21 Nigeria defense, Oleg Igin kicked a shot that curved into the net to the right of Oluchukwu Akintunde. The U21 Nigeria fans voiced their displeasure as they felt that Oluchukwu Akintunde should have stopped the shot. U21 Nigeria's Oluchukwu Akintunde played magnificently when he managed to stop the ball from hitting the goal, after a sharp shot by Artur Latypov in the 90th minute of play. 91 minutes into the match, U21 Russia's goal looked a bit too open when Amuchechukwu Isiaka came free, but Pablo Caballero reached the ball before it rolled over the goal line. 93 minutes into the match, U21 Nigeria's goal looked a bit too open when Oleg Igin came free, but Oluchukwu Akintunde reached the ball before it rolled over the goal line. Amuchechukwu Isiaka struck a weak shot in the 94th minute. Pablo Caballero didn't even have to move as the ball rolled over the line well wide of the goal. A wasted opportunity for U21 Nigeria.