Nigeria’s Flying Eagles have advanced to the Round of 16 of the ongoing FIFA U-20 World Cup in Chile, despite being held to a 1-1 draw by Colombia in their final Group F encounter played in the early hours of Monday (Nigerian time).
Colombia dominated much of the contest and took the lead in the 51st minute through Gonzalez Mosquera. However, Nigeria’s captain stepped up to convert a penalty in the 86th minute his second spot-kick goal of the tournament to earn his side a vital point.
This result mirrors the teams’ previous meeting at this level a thrilling 3-3 international friendly on May 16, 2023, where Nigeria trailed 2-1 at halftime.
In the group’s other fixture, Saudi Arabia and Norway also settled for a 1-1 draw. Norway’s Kemp Fuglestad struck in the 46th minute, before Talal Haji equalized from the penalty spot in the 53rd.
At the end of Group F proceedings, Colombia topped the table with five points, scoring twice and conceding once. Norway also had five points but finished second on goal difference. Nigeria placed third with four points, scoring and conceding four goals, while Saudi Arabia bowed out with just one point, having scored three and conceded five.
South Africa Stuns USA in Group E
In Group E, South Africa produced one of the biggest surprises of the tournament, defeating the high-scoring United States 2-1.
The Americans drew first blood in the 12th minute through defender Noah Cobb, but an own goal by Joshua Wynder in the 17th minute restored parity for the South Africans. Wynder’s blunder was the second own goal of the tournament the first coming from New Zealand’s Jayden Smith against Japan.
The decisive goal came in first-half added time (45+2’) when Leviy Kekana found the net after a neat assist from Shakeel April.
Elsewhere, France demolished New Caledonia 6-0, extending the latter’s miserable run to 20 goals conceded and just one scored in the group stage.
At the top of Group E, the USA, South Africa, and France all finished on six points, but the Americans edged first place with a superior goal difference, having scored 13 and conceded three. South Africa followed, scoring eight and conceding three, while France also netted eight but trailed on goal metrics. New Caledonia exited without a point.
Round of 16 Fixtures (All Times Nigerian Time)
- Chile vs Mexico – Tuesday, 8:30 p.m. (Valparaiso)
- Argentina vs Nigeria – Wednesday, 8:30 p.m. (Santiago)
- Ukraine vs Spain – Tuesday midnight (Valparaiso)
- Colombia vs South Africa – Wednesday, 8:30 p.m. (Taica)
- USA vs Italy – Thursday, 8:30 p.m. (Rancagua)
- Morocco vs South Korea – Thursday midnight (Rancagua)
- Paraguay vs Norway – Wednesday midnight (Taica)
- Japan vs France – Wednesday midnight (Santiago)
Quarterfinal Pairings
- Winner of (Chile/Mexico) vs Winner of (Argentina/Nigeria) – October 11
- Winner of (Ukraine/Spain) vs Winner of (Colombia/South Africa) – October 11
- Winner of (USA/Italy) vs Winner of (Morocco/South Korea) – October 12
- Winner of (Paraguay/Norway) vs Winner of (Japan/France) – October 12
The top two teams from each group automatically qualify for the Round of 16, while the best third-placed teams across all groups complete the knockout stage lineup.
The 24th edition of the FIFA U-20 Men’s World Cup runs from September 2 to October 17, featuring 24 nations from six football confederations competing across four cities in Chile.
