Golden generations and bronze-medal battlers

On 3 August 1996, Nigeria accomplished one of the greatest sporting feats in the country’s history, as their “Dream Team” defeated Argentina 3-2 to emerge victorious from the Olympic Football Tournament in Atlanta and give a literal twist to the phrase “golden generation”. Two decades later, the “Dream Team VI” may not have managed to replicate that glorious achievement, but by beating Honduras 3-2 to earn a bronze medal on Saturday, they ensured that they would leave Rio 2016 on a high note.

“This bronze medal means a lot to us,” striker Sadiq Umar, who scored a brace in Belo Horizonte, told FIFA.com. “It’s like winning a World Cup! I really think it was a brilliant performance. And most importantly, we deserved to win. We worked so hard to get results in this tournament. We had some great matches, and showed great team spirit and teamwork. Of course we would have preferred a gold medal, but the bronze is worth just as much to me,” added the imposing 19-year-old.

As the only Olympic medal obtained to date by Nigeria at Rio 2016, the football team’s success is historic for the country as a whole. And it has not been an easy road for the Africans, who had to negotiate a tricky group phase, during which they pulled off two tight wins and lost 2-0 to Colombia, and subsequently see off Denmark 2-0 in the quarter-finals, before losing to …

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