Nigeria’s Flying Eagles have qualified for 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 put up a strong performance, with goalkeeper Ebenezer Harcourt making crucial saves in the 23rd and 26th minutes to keep the game level during a tense first half.
Despite Colombia’s early dominance, Nigeria looked more dangerous in attack, as Tahir Maigana, Kparobo Arierhi, and Suleman Sani caused several problems for the South American defence, with their efforts hitting the upright multiple times.
Colombia took the lead in the 51st minute through Kener Gonzalez, who converted from Neyser Villareal’s assist.
The Flying Eagles continued to press for an equaliser, with defender Odinaka Okoro coming close with a powerful header in the 76th minute.
Their persistence paid off in the 86th minute when captain Daniel Bameyi calmly converted from the penalty spot after a Colombian defender handled Maigana’s goal-bound shot inside the box.
Nigeria nearly grabbed a late winner, but Arierhi’s 89th-minute strike was blocked inside the area.
With the result, Nigeria advanced to the knockout round, where they will face Argentina at the Estadio Nacional Julio Martinez Pradanos in Santiago on Wednesday — a repeat of their quarter-final clash at the previous U-20 World Cup in Argentina, which Nigeria won 2–0 in San Juan.
In other fixtures, Colombia will face South Africa, while Norway will play Paraguay in the Round of 16.