Nigeria’s Future Eagles recorded their biggest victory of the inaugural FIFA U-15 World Cup and Festival by beating New Caledonia 7-0 on Wednesday morning.
The result secured their place in the Tier C round of 16 and extended Nigeria’s unbeaten run in the tournament to six matches.
Captain Timothy Ijachi led the scoring with a hat-trick, while Abdulsalam Muhammad contributed two goals. Wisdom Oche and Mayowa Salu also found the net as Nigeria produced a dominant performance.
The Future Eagles needed only 60 seconds to take the lead, with Oche opening the scoring. Ijachi then struck twice in quick succession, scoring in the 12th and 16th minutes to give Nigeria a 3-0 advantage.
Muhammad added the fourth goal in the 21st minute before Ijachi completed his hat-trick in the 35th minute.
Nigeria continued to press after the interval, although the main damage had already been done before half-time. Muhammad scored his second goal four minutes after Ijachi’s third to make it 6-0, before Salu completed the scoring in the 40th minute.
The Future Eagles will now play the winner of the Tier C round-of-32 match between Republic of Benin and Cuba in the last 16.
The inaugural FIFA U-15 World Cup and Festival will conclude on Friday, 30 October, when the Tier finals are played.