Having retained the lead in Group B despite a defeat to Australia in their last group game, coach Manu Garba’s boys have been pitched against the talented Europeans in the Round of 16 at the FIFA U17 World Cup in Brazil.
Five-time world champions and Group B winners Nigeria are set to face off with Netherlands, who qualified from Group D as one of the four best third-placed teams.
The Golden Eaglets defeated Hungary 4-2 in their opening match at the World Cup before seeing off Ecuador 3-2 to charge to the top of their Group. Australia knocked the winds out of the Eaglets’ sail but the defeat was not enough to push the 2015 world champions off the group’s summit.
The Netherlands however started their campaign poorly with two straight defeats, a 3-0 loss to Japan and a 3-1 defeat to Senegal, but surged into the knockout phase by soundly defeating USA 4-0 on Saturday night in their Group D finale at the FIFA U-17 World Cup Brazil 2019.
A mouthwatering 2019 U17 World Cup Round of 16 clash between the African starlets and their European counterpart is billed for Tuesday at the Estadio Olimpico, Goiania – the first time ever these two teams will meet in this competition.
The winner of the encounter will take on either Paraguay or Argentina in the quarter-final.
Round of 16 Fixtures
Angola vs South Korea Nigeria vs Netherlands Spain vs Senegal Japan vs Mexico Brazil vs Chile France vs Australia Ecuador vs Italy Paraguay vs Argentina