24th FIFA U20 World Cup: Flying Eagles draw with Chile in Rancagua friendly
Hosts Chile forced Nigeria to a 1-1 draw in a friendly match played in the city of Rancagua on Saturday, as part of both teams’ preparations for the 24th FIFA U20 World Cup finals starting seven days from now.
Ahmed Akinyele rose above everyone else in the box to head Nigeria in front in the 18th minute, from a corner kick by Tahir Maigana, but Chile drew level 18 minutes later through Felipe Faúndez.
Just a minute into the second half, goalkeeper Ebenezer Harcourt made two big saves to keep scores even.
Abduljelil Kamaldeen, Kparobo Arhieri and Auwal Ibrahim came in as substitutes for Nigeria in the second period.
The Flying Eagles will take on the Australia U20 team in another friendly match on Tuesday.
2026 FIFA U20 Women’s World Cup Race: Aduku says Falconets will go for goals
Head Coach Moses Aduku says his team will go all out against their Rwandan counterparts in Sunday’s 2026 FIFA U20 Women’s World Cup second round, first leg qualifying tie in Kigali.
“We have had the opportunity to watch the Rwandan girls in their first-round games against Zimbabwe, and we now have an idea of how they play. We will devise strategies to neutralize them and then go for victory.
“We are happy to be playing the first leg away, but at the end, what matters is the effort put into every match, not necessarily the venue. I know the quality of players I have in my team, and I have confidence in them.”
Sunday’s match at the Kigali-Pele Stadium will start at 3pm Rwanda time (2pm Nigeria time). Reply
