By Samuel Akpan
Nigeria’s Future Eagles closed the opening phase of the inaugural FIFA U-15 World Cup & Festival with a battling 1-1 draw against Pakistan on Monday afternoon in Baku, Azerbaijan.
Pakistan went ahead in the 21st minute through star forward Kaleemullah Ullah, who was supplied right beside the penalty spot and finished clinically for his second goal of the day after earlier netting against Jordan.
Timothy Ijach levelled four minutes later, reacting fastest to a loose ball in the box to poke home in the 25th minute.
The result left Nigeria with seven points from five matches—one win and four draws—unbeaten in their Group.
They scored 11 goals and conceded 10, showing attacking promise but defensive fragility in the innovative eight-a-side format of two 20-minute halves.
The Future Eagles now await the second phase, where group results decide their slot among six performance-based tiers for games on October 28 and 29 before tier finals on October 30.
The tournament is FIFA’s largest-ever youth event, involving 189-member associations.
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