At the 1989 World Youth Championship in Saudi Arabia, Nigeria collected the silver medal, after defeating the USSR in the most vibrant semi-final matches ever played in the history of the FIFA U-20 championship.

The Flying Eagles’ first game was against the host country, and they defeated Saudi Arabia 2-1 with midfielder Mutiu Adepoju and forward Christopher Ohenhen scoring the two vital goals for Nigeria. The next match was against Portugal, and it was against the expectations of coach Tunde Disu led by Boys, who were beaten 1-0 by a strong Portuguese team. However, the Flying Eagles were able to secure a quarter-final berth after securing a 1-1 draw against Czechoslovakia in their last group match. Christopher Ohenhen once again salvaged a point for Nigeria by scoring the decisive tie in 72 minutes of play.

In the quarterfinal game, the Flying Eagles were paired with the USSR.

The game was played in Dammam, and was later renamed “The Miracle of Dammam”.

This was a game that saw Nigeria lose 4-0 just minutes from the end of the decisive quarter-final match. The legendary Oleg Salenko of the USSR was among the scorers of that memorable match. In the space of 30 minutes, Nigeria fought back to equalize 4-4 and take the game to a penalty shoot-out. The comeback was started by star player Christopher Ohenhen, who scored a double in the 61st and 75th minutes to bring the score to 4-2 with 15 minutes left in regulation time. Samuel Elijah, later nicknamed “Prophet” Samuel Elijah scored in the 83rd minute of play and brought the score down to 4-3, before inspiring captain Nduka Ugbade came out of nowhere to tie 4-4 with an incredible draw at the 84 minutes. The Russians were stunned beyond their imagination. The match went to penalties after 90 minutes had elapsed, and the Nigerians triumphed 5-3, after Mirdjalal Kasimov missed his shot from point of view to bring the game to an anti-climax. It was the best comeback in world football history to date.

In the semifinals, the Flying Eagles narrowly defeated the United States 2-1 after the game had to go into another overtime with the games tied 1-1 in regulation time. Mutiu Adepoju, who later became an integral part of the Nigerian Super Eagles, scored the two goals that eliminated the USA from the tournament. In America’s goal on that memorable day, was goalkeeper Kasey Keller, who later became a household name in world soccer.

It was a tired-looking Flying Eagles team that qualified for the final of the 1989 FIFA World Youth Championship, after playing two consecutive games leading to penalties. This proved decisive as the Flying Eagles were defeated 2-0 by Portugal, who had previously beaten them 1-0 in the group stage.