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Nigeria’s Future Eagles began their campaign at the inaugural FIFA U-15 World Cup and Festival with a 3-3 draw against South Sudan in Baku, Azerbaijan, on Saturday.
The six-goal encounter offered an eventful start for the Nigerian youngsters, who were unable to secure victory despite scoring three times against their East African opponents in the opening fixture. Blueprint reports
Head coach Patrick Bassey’s side arrived in Baku on Thursday ahead of the tournament, which runs from October 22 to 31 and brings together youth teams from different parts of the world.
Nigeria travelled with a 14-player squad and six officials for the competition, which features an innovative eight-a-side format intended to give young footballers more opportunities to compete internationally and gain experience against different opponents.
Nigeria face busy group schedule
The Future Eagles are drawn in Group AD alongside South Sudan, Jordan, The Gambia, Cyprus and Pakistan.
Following Saturday’s draw, Nigeria and South Sudan each earned a point, leaving the Future Eagles with work to do as they pursue a strong finish in the group phase.
Nigeria are scheduled to face Jordan and The Gambia on Sunday before taking on Cyprus and Pakistan on Monday.
The demanding schedule will test the team’s fitness, tactical discipline and ability to recover between matches as they seek to improve on their opening performance.
Unique format offers development opportunity
Matches at the festival are played in two 20-minute halves, with eight players per team on the pitch.
The format differs from the conventional 11-a-side game and is designed to increase players’ involvement, encourage technical development and expose young footballers to international competition.
The tournament also adopts a tiered progression system, through which teams’ performances in the opening phase determine the tier in which they compete during the next stage. This arrangement ensures that participating countries remain involved beyond the initial group fixtures.
The tier finals are scheduled for October 30, a day before the festival concludes in Baku.
For Nigeria, the immediate priority will be to build on the attacking display against South Sudan while improving their overall consistency in the remaining group matches.
The Future Eagles will hope to turn their opening point into victories as they continue their campaign at the inaugural FIFA U-15 World Cup and Festival.
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