28th May, 2023
By Kazeem Ugbodaga
The Flying Eagles of Nigeria will play host Argentina in the Round of 16 at the ongoing Under-20 FIFA World Cup.
The Eagles qualified as one of the best losers despite amassing six points in Group D which was won by Brazil, with Italy coming second.
The match will be played on 31 May, 2023 at the Estadio San Juan del Bicentenario (San Juan).
Argentina won all three matches in Group A, scoring 10 goals and conceding only one. They, however, played against less fancy opponents such as Uzbekistan, New Zealand and Guatemala.
The South American side will meet a stiff opposition from Nigeria, which played in difficult group D, that had Brazil and Italy.
The Eagles beat Dominican Republic 2-1 and Italy 2-0. They lost 0-2 to Brazil in their last game.
Argentina beat Uzbekistan 2-1 in their opening game and then defeated Guatemala 3-0 and mauled New Zealand 5-0.
Argentina’s only meeting with the Flying Eagles at the Under-20 World Cup was in 2005 when the Lionel Messi-inspired team beat Nigeria 2-1 in the final of the tournament.
However, in other draw, USA will play New Zealand, Uzbekistan will play Israel, while Colombia will slug it out with Slovakia, just England have potential cracker against Italy.