It had been 44 years since a player last scored four goals in an Olympic Football match, with West Germany's Bernd Nickel the man responsible in a 7-0 win over USA in front of 65,000 in Munich. On Thursday, in the dry, difficult conditions of Manaus, 20-year-old striker Oghenekaro Etebo matched Nickel's feat in Nigeria's thrilling 5-4 win over Japan.
Oghenekaro translates as "God first", so it was perhaps only fitting that, when reflecting on making Olympic history, Etebo expressed gratitude as well as pride. "Thank God it has happened, but what I'm most excited about was the victory," he told FIFA.com. "I'm very happy because it was a great joy, although it wasn't easy due to the stress and all that."
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