Flying Eagles’ Captain, Daniel Bameyi, has promised Nigerians that his team will be ready for the second-round clash with Argentina at the ongoing FIFA U-20 World Cup in Chile.
 
The Nigerians have not been very impressive in their three games so far, with a loss, one win and a draw to qualify for tomorrow’s second round game.
 
Now, with the team set to meet one of the standout sides of the intermediate championship, Bameyi said his team will take each game as it comes, adding that the players know what to expect from Argentina.
 
Bameyi has scored two late goals from the penalty box to get Nigeria a victory in its second game against Saudi Arabia and a draw with Colombia yesterday morning.
 
The first was a 94th-minute penalty against Saudi Arabia that gave the Flying Eagles a 3-2 victory, while the second was an 86th-minute equaliser against Colombia.
 
Bameyi was the captain when the Flying Eagles lost in the quarterfinal to South Korea in the championship hosted by Argentina. But now, he believes the current squad has the ingredients to score goals all the way.
 
“The last time I took part in the FIFA U-20 World Cup in Argentina, I remember we lost in the quarterfinals to the Republic of Korea. This time, I told my teammates that we had to perform at our best from the first whistle to the last, and today we saw how the goal came in added time. I’m happy we got the three points after losing the first game,” Bameyi told fifa.com after the win at Estadio Fiscal.
  
Nigeria ranks among the storied international youth football powerhouses. The Flying Eagles have won more titles than any other country at the U-17 level. However, they have been unable to repeat this feat in the U-20 category, despite winning the Africa U-20 Cup of Nations seven times. In 1989 and 2005, they finished as runners-up in the World Cup after losing to Portugal and Argentina, respectively. Their Argentina 2023 campaign proved to be their best since reaching the quarterfinals in Colombia 2011 and, with Bameyi once again as captain, they dream of pulling off their best result ever.

“Nothing is impossible in football,” he said. “It’s a tournament that my country hasn’t managed to win yet, and I think we’ve got the quality in our squad to do what it takes. It would be fantastic for my country if we could bring the trophy home.”
 
In the game against Colombia, Goalkeeper Ebenezer Harcourt made big saves in the 23rd and 26th minutes to keep the scoreline pristine in Talca, but the Flying Eagles were the more adventurous side as they hit the upright on a number of occasions, with Tahir Maigana, Kparobo Arierhi and Suleman Sani in full flow for large swatches of the encounter.
 
Colombia went ahead in the 51st minute when Kener Gonzalez swept the ball in off an assist by Neyser Villareal, but the Flying Eagles were undaunted and launched onslaught after onslaught against the South Americans at the Estadio Fiscal de Talca.
 
Defender Odinaka Okoro was denied by the goalkeeper as he headed the ball from a pull-out by Maigana in the 76th minute.
 
However, the two-time silver medallists got their breakthrough with four minutes left in regulation time, when captain Daniel Bameyi sent the goalkeeper the wrong way from the penalty spot after a shot by Maigana was handled in the box.
 
The draw sets up Nigeria against Argentina at the Estadio Nacional Julio Martinez Pradanos in Santiago tomorrow, in what is a repeat of the quarterfinal pairing of the last championship hosted by Argentina, which Nigeria won 2-0 in San Juan.
 
Colombia will confront another African side, South Africa, while Norway will take on Paraguay in the Round of 16.