By John Egbokhan, reporting from Dubai

Striker Taiwo Awoniyi last night powered the Golden Eaglets into the semifinal of the FIFA U-17 World Cup holding in the United Arab Emirates, as his two goals condemned Uruguay to a 2-0 defeat in a quarterfinal match held in Sharjah.

After scoring 18 goals in the four matches, the goals did not come aplenty for the Eaglets, who despite having ample scoring chances, seemed to forget to wear their scoring boots on a day that their south American opponents, also failed to create attacking chances.

On a night that the Eaglets did not look their vintage best, they still did enough to lay a serious claim to the title. And their fans, who thronged Sharjah in their thousands, were left chorusing the name of Awoniyi, who scored two goals in either half of the match.

His first, an 18th minute strike, was a beauty and a genuine contender for one of the goals of the competition.
Though it may not go as a vintage performance, credit must be given to the Nigerian boys, who have shown that they mean business here. They are gunning for their fourth bite of the title, which will be a record.

The ouster of Brazil, has made the Eaglets run here one of the best. They are fully in charge of their destiny. They next play Sweden in the semifinal on Tuesday in Dubai.

Taiwo Awonity of Nigeria celebrates after scoring against Uruguay during his FIFA U-17 World Cup UAE 2013 football match in Sharjah on November 2, 2013. AFP PHOTO / STR

The last time both teams clashed in a group fixture, it ended in a thrilling 3-3 draw, with the Swedes pushing the Eaglets to the wall. But the Nigerians responded in suit, showing their character of not going down without a fight.
To get to the semis, they were made to earn their passage by a cagey Uruguayan side, whose strategy last night appeared to be to contain the Eaglets from getting into their half of the field.

But the Eaglets, as they have done throughout their campaign here, were not going to allow for that as they switched styles and mounted pressure on their foes, who seemed content to holding back the Nigerians from scoring.

After holding the Eaglets for 17 minutes, Awoniyi beat his marker to score the opener to the admiration of the fans and coach Manu Garba. They Eaglets had chances after that to increase their lead but they fluffed their chances.

With the minutes ticking away, Awoniyi came up again, after on-rushing Kelechi Iheanacho beat a defender and flicked a pass to him, with his second goal of the night in the 79th minute to kill off the Uruguayan challenge.