Nigeria’s Future Eagles began their campaign at the inaugural FIFA U15 World Cup & Festival with a 3-3 draw against South Sudan in Baku, Azerbaijan on Saturday.
The opening Group AD encounter, played at the Hovsan Competition Complex in Baku, lived up to expectations as both sides showed attacking intent in the eight-a-side format.
The game was played over two halves of 20 minutes each, as stipulated for the tournament.
Coach Patrick Bassey’s side, who arrived in Baku on Thursday with a 14-man squad and six officials, had to come from behind twice in the encounter.
The Future Eagles started brightly but were pegged back by a resilient South Sudan side — the Bright Stars — who had vowed to make a strong statement in their first ever FIFA World Cup appearance at any level.
The result means Nigeria pick up a point from their first of five group-stage matches. The Future Eagles were drawn in Group AD alongside South Sudan, Jordan, The Gambia, Cyprus and Pakistan.
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Attention now shifts to Sunday for the Future Eagles, with two matches scheduled. The Future Eagles will face Jordan at 9:45am Nigerian time and then The Gambia at 4:30pm on Sunday, before rounding off their group fixtures against Cyprus and Pakistan on Monday.
The group-stage performances will determine which tier each country progresses to for the second phase scheduled for October 28 and 29, with the tier finals slated for Friday, October 30.
The FIFA U-15 World Cup & Festival is an international youth football competition organised by FIFA for national teams of players up to the age of 15.
Open to all 211 FIFA member associations, it is played in a small-sided, festival-style format in which every team plays around nine matches, and has been described by FIFA as its largest ever tournament.
The competition was created as part of FIFA’s stated commitment to promote youth football, with the U-15 tournament for boys and girls approved by the FIFA Council in December 2025.
Azerbaijan was appointed as host of the inaugural edition, with 189 member associations taking part and matches played in Baku from 24 to 30 October 2026.
By James Agberebi
