Nigeria’s Flying Eagles secured a Round of 16 spot at the FIFA U-20 World Cup after a 1–1 draw with Colombia.
Captain Daniel Bameyi’s late penalty sealed the result in a tense Group Stage finale.
Nigeria’s Flying Eagles have advanced to the Round of 16 at the ongoing 24th FIFA U-20 World Cup in Chile after a 1–1 draw with Colombia in the early hours of Monday.
The match, played at the Estadio Fiscal de Talca, saw the seven-time African champions deliver a resilient display despite Colombia’s early pressure. Goalkeeper Ebenezer Harcourt produced key saves in the 23rd and 26th minutes to keep the team in contention.
Tahir Maigana, Kparobo Arierhi, and Suleman Sani were among Nigeria’s liveliest attackers, consistently challenging the South American defense and coming close on several occasions.
Colombia took the lead in the 51st minute when Kener Gonzalez converted a pass from Neyser Villareal. However, Nigeria refused to back down, with defender Odinaka Okoro narrowly missing with a header in the 76th minute.
The breakthrough came in the 86th minute after a Colombian player handled Maigana’s goal-bound shot inside the area. Team captain Daniel Bameyi calmly converted the resulting penalty to level the score.
Nigeria almost clinched a late winner when Arierhi’s effort in the 89th minute was blocked inside the box.
With the result, the Flying Eagles finished the group stage unbeaten and will now face Argentina at the Estadio Nacional Julio Martínez Prádanos in Santiago on Wednesday. The match will be a repeat of their quarter-final meeting in the last U-20 World Cup held in Argentina, where Nigeria triumphed 2–0 in San Juan.
In other Round of 16 fixtures, Colombia will take on South Africa, while Norway faces Paraguay.
