U15 World Cup: Future Eagles Thrash New Caledonia, Suffer First Defeat To Benin

By Saheed Afolabi

Nigeria’s Future Eagles suffered their first defeat at the ongoing FIFA U15 World Cup and Festival in Azerbaijan after losing 6-3 to Benin Republic on Wednesday evening, ending their six-match unbeaten run in the competition.

Captain Timothy Ogar Ijachi scored twice to take his tournament tally to 11 goals, while Wisdom Boniface grabbed Nigeria’s other goal in the encounter.

Despite the defeat, Ijachi has emerged as one of Nigeria’s standout performers at the tournament, consistently finding the net across the team’s opening matches.

He scored in Nigeria’s 3-3 draw against South Sudan on the opening day before finding the net again in the 2-2 draw with Jordan on Sunday morning.

The young forward continued his impressive scoring form later that day, bagging a brace in another 3-3 draw, this time against The Gambia.

Ijachi was also decisive on Monday morning, scoring the winning goal in Nigeria’s 2-1 victory over Cyprus before netting the team’s only goal in a 1-1 draw with Pakistan later in the day.

On Wednesday, he struck a hat-trick in the Future Eagles’ emphatic 7-0 victory over New Caledonia before adding another two goals against Benin Republic.

However, his individual brilliance was not enough to prevent Nigeria from suffering their first loss of the tournament, despite their impressive attacking display against their West African rivals.