Defending champions Nigeria early this morning saw off Australia in a dominant performance, qualifying for the quarterfinal of the 2015 FIFA U-17 World Cup after they dumped Australia 6-0 in Vena Del Mar, Chile.

Victor Osimhen scored the first hat-trick of Chile 2015 to see him stand alone as the outright top goalscorer in the competition so far with seven goals.

Osimhen showed class as Nigeria bounced back from a 2-1 loss to Croatia in their final group game to send warning signals they will not surrender their crown without a big fight.

The big centre-forward is the leading scorer at Chile 2015 with seven goals after his goals in the 22nd, 73rd and 79th minutes after Australia started out very brightly.

Skipper Kelechi Nwakali tucked away a penalty in the 25th minute to make it 2-0 for Nigeria after Funsho Bamboye was brought down inside the box.

The Eaglets other goals were by substitute Eddiong Essien from a diving header after 86 minutes and Samuel Chukwueze two minutes from time when he fired home from a tight angle after he beat the goalkeeper to the ball.

Australia were a beaten side even by half time after two goals in quick succession by Nigeria. They saw a lot of the ball but they lacked the cutting edge going forward to finally go down to their sixth straight loss to Nigeria at this level.

Nigeria's 6-0 victory over Australia is the joint-biggest win in the history of the FIFA U-17 World Cup knockout stages, level with Japan's 6-0 win against their antipodean neighbours New Zealand in 2011, which also come in the Round of 16.

Nigeria will now on Sunday battle Brazil for a place in the last four after the South Americans pipped New Zealand 1-0 in their own Round of 16 tie. The defending champions beat the Brazilians 2-1 in a recent invitational tournament in South Korea.

All the Round of 16 Results

Nigeria 6-0 Australia

Mexico 4-1 Chile

Brazil 1-0 New Zealand

Korea Republic 0-2 Belgium

•Photo shows the Golden Eaglets celebrating one of their six goals . . . hours ago in Chile.