Nigeria’s Flying Eagles booked their place in the Round of 16 at the ongoing FIFA U20 World Cup in Chile after a hard-fought 1-1 draw with Colombia in the early hours of Monday.
The seven-time African champions impressed at the Estadio Fiscal de Talca, with goalkeeper Ebenezer Harcourt pulling off crucial saves in the 23rd and 26th minutes to keep the game level. Despite Colombia’s early pressure, Nigeria looked the more enterprising side, as Tahir Maigana, Kparobo Arierhi, and Suleman Sani repeatedly tested the South American defence, even hitting the woodwork on multiple occasions.
Colombia took the lead in the 51st minute when Kener Gonzalez converted a cross from Neyser Villareal. However, the Flying Eagles refused to back down, pushing forward relentlessly in search of an equalizer. Defender Odinaka Okoro came close in the 76th minute but saw his header from Maigana’s delivery saved by the Colombian goalkeeper.
Nigeria finally got their reward four minutes from time. Captain Daniel Bameyi calmly slotted home from the penalty spot after a Colombian defender handled Maigana’s goal-bound effort inside the box.
The Flying Eagles nearly grabbed a late winner in the 89th minute, but Arierhi’s strike was blocked inside the area.
With the result, Nigeria now face hosts Argentina at the Estadio Nacional Julio Martínez Prádanos in Santiago on Wednesday a rematch of their memorable quarter-final meeting at the 2001 tournament in Argentina, where the Flying Eagles triumphed 2-0 in San Juan.
Colombia will take on another African side, South Africa, while Norway faces Paraguay in the Round of 16.
