Nnamdi-Oduamadi
Nnamdi Oduamadi claimed a hat-
trick as Nigeria shook off the jet
lag to thrash minnows Tahiti 6-1
in their opening Confederations Cup game in Belo Horizonte on
Monday.

The African champions only
arrived in Brazil 36 hours before the game after a row over bonus payments, but they could even afford some wasteful
finishing as they leapfrogged world champions Spain to the top of Group B.
It was a predictably chastening
experience for Tahiti, ranked
138th in the world, but they
were nonetheless able to
celebrate when Jonathan Tehau
headed in their first ever goal at a high-profile international
event. Tehau's goal, early in the second
half, trimmed Nigeria's lead to
3-1 after a deflected Uwa
Echiejile shot and a pair of goals
from Oduamadi had put Nigeria in
command. However, the south Pacific
islanders' hopes of a famous
comeback were dashed as Tehau
put through his own goal before
Oduamadi and Echiejile added
further goals to give Stephen Keshi's men a spring in their step
ahead of Thursday's crucial
showdown with Uruguay. A sparse crowd of just 20 187
made their way to the newly
renovated Estadio Mineirao but
they were vocal in their support
of Tahiti, who registered the
game's first shot on target through Vincent Simon. Fortune deserted the underdogs
moments later, however. After the ball bounced off
referee Joel Aguilar, Echiejile
launched a speculative shot that
deflected off Tehau and captain
Nicolas Vallar and ricocheted past
Tahiti goalkeeper Xavier Samin. Oduamadi added two more,
neatly side-stepping a pair of
challenges and sweeping home in
the 10th minute, before tapping
in his second when Samin spilled
a low cross from Ahmed Musa. Nigeria made heavy work of
putting the game to bed though,
with Musa miskicking in front of
an open goal before Anthony
Ujah and Sunday Mba both
allowed Samin to save when clean through on goal. Tahiti had already seen their one
professional player, Marama
Vahirua, drive a shot narrowly
over, and they threatened to
make things interesting as
Steevy Chong Hue headed wide from a Ricky Aitamai cross. Musa miscued again from 12
yards early in the second half,
before the goal that Tahiti had
been threatening arrived in the
54th minute. The honour fell to Tehau, who
headed in a deep corner kick
from Vahirua at the back post
and then led his ecstatic
teammates in a canoe-paddling
celebration. The goal also sparked jubilation
on the bench, coach Eddy Etatea
leaping from the dug-out with
his fists in the air, but Tehau's
day took a turn for the worse in
the 68th minute when he inadvertently toed the ball into
his own goal to restore Nigeria's
three-goal advantage. Oduamadi tucked in a cross from
substitute Brown Ideye to
complete his hat-trick in the
76th minute, with Echiejile adding
a sixth shortly after as Tahiti's
reserves of resistance finally ran dry.

Nigerians and all Africans are celebrating about this winning as that shows that Africa will go far.