The fixtures between Uruguay and Norway and Ukraine and USA were much closer affairs, remaining tense until the final whistle. Uruguay raced into a 2-0 lead within the opening 30 minutes and looked to be on course for all three points, but Norway pulled a goal back early in the second half to throw the game wide open again, before the South Americans put it to bed. Meanwhile, USA managed to level the score after falling behind against Ukraine, but the Stars and Stripes ultimately finished empty-handed.
Results
Group C
Honduras 0-5 New Zealand
Uruguay 3-1 Norway
Group D
Qatar 0-4 Nigeria
Ukraine 2-1 USA
Goal of the day
Uruguay-Norway
Goal: 1-0 Darwin Nunez (21′)
Memorable moments
Record scoreline: New Zealand recorded their biggest-ever victory in the competition, surpassing their 5-1 thrashing of Myanmar four years ago.
First opening win for eight years: Nigeria won their opening game at a FIFA U-20 World Cup for the first time since 2011, when they defeated Guatemala 5-0 en route to reaching the quarter-finals. In 2013 the Africans began with a 3-2 reverse against Portugal, in 2015 it was a 4-2 loss against Brazil, and in 2017 they failed to qualify for the finals.
Second day, second own-goal: After Japan’s Kyosuke Tagawa put the ball into his own net in the 45th minute against Ecuador yesterday, Darwin Diego did likewise for Honduras in the eighth minute to give New Zealand the lead today. Yet while the Samurai Blue rallied to salvage a point against the South American champions, Honduras shipped another four goals against the Kiwis.
The words
“I’m very happy because the players showed what they’re capable of today. But this is just the beginning and the first three points. Now we need to focus on our upcoming assignments.”
Des Buckingham (New Zealand coach)
“I scored my first goal for Nigeria in my very first game for the team. I’m over the moon. We gave it our all today. We’re a strong side and have got a lot of technically gifted players. I think we can go a long way at this tournament.”
Ayotomiwa Dele-Bashiru (Nigeria goalscorer)
Up next (kick-offs in local time)
Group E
France-Saudi Arabia (Gdynia, 18:00)
Panama-Mali (Bydgoszcz, 18:00)
Group F
Argentina-South Africa (Tychy, 20:30)
Portugal-Korea Republic (Bielsko-Biala, 15:30)
