Nigeria’s Flying Eagles have booked their place in the Round of 16 at the ongoing 24th FIFA U-20 World Cup in Chile, following a hard-fought 1–1 draw against Colombia in the early hours of Monday.
Playing at the Estadio Fiscal de Talca, the seven-time African champions delivered a spirited performance, with goalkeeper Ebenezer Harcourt making key saves in the 23rd and 26th minutes to keep the scores level during a tense first half.
Despite sustained pressure from Colombia early on, Nigeria looked the more enterprising side for much of the match. The attacking trio of Tahir Maigana, Kparobo Arierhi, and Suleman Sani repeatedly tested the Colombian defence and were unlucky not to score, hitting the woodwork multiple times.
Colombia eventually broke the deadlock in the 51st minute through Kener Gonzalez, who calmly finished from a well-timed Neyser Villareal assist.
Undeterred, Nigeria pressed forward in search of an equaliser. Defender Odinaka Okoro came close with a powerful header in the 76th minute, but it was captain Daniel Bameyi who levelled the score in the 86th minute, converting a penalty after a Colombian defender handled Maigana’s goal-bound shot.
The Flying Eagles nearly snatched a late winner in the 89th minute, but Arierhi’s effort was blocked inside the box.
With the draw, Nigeria advanced to the knockout stage and will face hosts Argentina at the Estadio Nacional Julio Martínez Prádanos in Santiago on Wednesday, a rematch of the quarter-final clash at the previous U-20 World Cup, where Nigeria triumphed 2–0 in San Juan.
Elsewhere in the Round of 16, Colombia will take on South Africa, while Norway face Paraguay.
