Little-known Nigeria striker Sanni Issa on Saturday made history with his Auckland City of New Zealand teammates as they became the first team from the Oceania to go as far as winning a medal at the FIFA Club world Cup.
Auckland City won the bronze medal via penalty shoot outs having first played 1-1 draw with the Concaf champions Cruz Azul.
The 10-year-old Auckland City has starred in five other Club World Cups; but with very little impact at the flagship event.
However this went well this term as Tim Payne, Darren White, James Pritchett and Issa all converted their kicks for Auckland, while John Irving missed target after crashing his shot off the cross bar.
But Cruz Azul striker Formica made things worse for his team as he blasted his shot high over the bar, before Auckland goalkeeper Jacob Spoonley saved from Valadez, to hand the Kiwi side the win.
The victory thus caps a truly remarkable ten day period for the Auckland City team who have now beaten the Moroccan champions, African champions and CONCACAF champions in the space of ten days.
Already there are suggestions that Issa should be given a look-in by the national team handlers in the coming days.
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