Spain coach Juan Santisteban (©uefa.com)Spanish supremacy continues
Friday, 11 February 2005
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PrintSpain completed their UEFA-CAF Meridian Cup campaign withour conceding a goal as David Mateos's header gave them a fourth straight win.
Nigeria's bright start
Nigeria had lost their previous three fixtures without scoring and were keen to reverse that trend in Odemis. They began brightly and four minutes in Oluseyi Olusegun was unlucky not to register with a spectacular overhead kick. However, three minutes later Nigeria goalkeeper Okemute Odah was called into action to save a powerful shot by Mario Suárez.
Chances created
Chances were arriving for both teams, but neither could find the target. On the half-hour Diego Capel cut into the box from the right and although he beat the goalkeeper, his effort went wide. Nigeria then had time to go close twice more before the interval, but could not break their duck for the tournament.
Winning goal
Juan Santisteban's side had been having a difficult game, but took control in the second half and within ten minutes struck the decisive goal, Mateos heading in a corner. Nigeria had beaten Spain 3-2 in 1997 to win the inaugural Meridian Cup - but had no response today.
Impressive record
This result ensured the 1999 champions extended their run of victories in the competition to ten, stretching back to 2001 and including perfect records in the last two editions. Indeed, Spain are unbeaten in 17 Meridian Cup matches since that loss to Nigeria eight years ago, and are the first team to go through a tournament with their defence unbreached.
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