Dream Team VI failed to reach the final of the men’s football event of the Rio 2016 Olympics following a 0-2 lost to Germany inside the Arena Corinthians in Sao Paulo, Brazil.
The Europeans scored within the first ten minutes of play courtesy Lukas Klostermann, who rolled Captain Max Meyer’s incisive pass into the net with Emmanuel Daniel completely helpless and killed off the game with a late strike from substitute Nils Petersen.
Samson Siasia was forced to make changes to his side as Ndifreke Udo replaced suspended midfielder Okechukwu Azubuike, while Aminu Umar continued in the place of topscorer Oghenekaro Etebo who was only fit enough for the bench as he failed to recover on time from injury.
The absence of the duo was evident in the Dream Team VI play as they conceded possession easily to their opponents and it was no surprise when they fell behind early on.
Nigeria had a perfect chance to level scores when the German goalkeeper Timo Horn miss-timed his clearance into the path of Roma forward Sadiq Umar but the striker failed to punish the Germans as his shot was blocked twice before Horn recovered and made a sprawling save.
The Germans created half chances as they tore the Nigerian defence open but it was the Dream Team VI that looked good to score when Captain Mikel Obi dribbled two defenders but the third made a fantastic block as he pulled the trigger.
Nigeria ended the first half as the stronger side with Aminu toe poking an effort towards goal after receiving a neat through pass from striker partner Sadiq but Matthias Ginter produced an exceptional tackle to send the ball for a corner.
The second half was dominated by the Germans as they looked to extend their lead.
Arsenal flying winger Serge Gnabry who picked up a yellow in the first half produced a fine individual moment as he cut inside Shehu before releasing a shot that Emmanuel Daniel parried for a corner.
Mikel Obi hit the side netting from a freekick as Nigeria pressed for the equaliser. Sadiq Umar was replaced by Junior Ajayi while Saliu Popoola came on for Udo Ndifreke.
