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Nigeria may have a new gem in the Portuguese top flight, following in the footsteps of Zaidu Sanusi.
The Portuguese Primera Liga has seen some good Nigerian players (past and present), and that is set to continue with the emergence of another youngster.
On Sunday night, 20-year-old Friday Etim announced himself on the big stage after scoring in FC Vizela's 2-0 away win over Pacos Ferreira.
Before Etim's arrival, Vizela had struggled to find the breakthrough, with the first half ending in a goalless draw.
Vizela coach Alvaro Pacheco reacted by bringing on Etim for the second half, which turned out to be a genius move as the youngster opened the scoring three minutes after coming on.
Etim's brilliant right-footed shot flew past Paco's goalkeeper Igor Vekic before Bruno Wilson's header secured a 2-0 win for the away side.
However, it was Etim who stole the headlines, and rightly so. The match was only his third game with Vizela's first team, and he delivered. In the 45 minutes he played, Etim won five duels and completed five of his eleven attempted passes, including one key pass.
The 20-year-old also created one big chance and capped off the performance with a well-taken goal. Although Etim still needs to work on his finishing after missing two big chances, he got into promising positions, which shows his intelligent reading of the game.
While his goal on Saturday was his first in the Portuguese top flight this season, Etim has three goals and three assists in five league games for Vizela's U23 team in the reserve league.
But with the top flight going on a World Cup break, Etim will have more time to harness his skill with the U23 team ahead of a possible run with the first team when the league resumes after the World Cup break.
Etim is the latest Nigerian star to have a breakout year in the Portuguese league, following Bruno Onyemaechi. Also, not forgetting Zaidu Sanusi, who has established himself as Porto's first choice left-back.
Onyemaechi, who stars for Boavista, and Sanusi are in Nigeria's squad for the clash against Portugal. Etim has not been called up, but if he continues in this current trajectory, it is only a matter of time before he gets the attention of Super Eagles coach Jose Peseiro.
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