GOLDEN Eaglets' talisman at the FIFA U-17 World Cup Chile 2015, Victor Osimhen has spoken on why he dedicated his fifth goal of the competition in the 6-0 thrashing of The Joeys of Australia to out-of-action defender, Tobechukwu Ibe. Wednesday’s match at the Estadio Sausalito saw Osimhen scored a hat trick to take his tally so far in the competition to seven goals after four matches. He had previously scored a goal on the opening day in the 2-o win over the USA; a brace in the 5-1 crushing of host Chile and a goal in the 2-1 defeat by Croatia.
" Tobechukwu is one of our key players but he has not played here; and immediately I scored the opening goal against Australia, he was the only one on my mind," said Osimhen who has notched up a total of 48 goals for Golden Eaglets after 77 matches in all competitions.
"He (Tobechukwu) is a good guy and has been encouraging all of us to work harder." Going into Chile 2015, Tobechukwu was going to be one of the mainstays in Golden Eaglets' back four until he suffered an injury few days to the kick off of the tournament but has gradually being working his way back to fitness.
The ever-smiling Tobechukwu who has bore his disappointment with self-control , admitted he felt special by the outpouring of love from Osimhen and the team in general despite the fact that he has not played in the competition. " I'm happy for the team and especially Victor who came to hug me after scoring the first goal today(Wednesday) ,” said Tobechukwu which translates to mean 'praise God' in the Eastern part of the country. Speaking on behalf of the team to the media afterwards, Tobechukwu said team work and discipline has helped them so far , adding that the Golden Eaglets would be ready to take on Brazil on Sunday for the semi-final ticket.
