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Nigeria national under-17 football team

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This article is about the men's team. For the women's team, see Nigeria women's national under-17 football team.

Nigeria Under-17
Nickname(s)Golden Eaglets
AssociationNigeria Football Association
ConfederationCAF (Africa)
Sub-confederationWAFU (West Africa)
Head coachManu Garba
Home stadiumAbuja Stadium
FIFA codeNGA
First colours
Second colours
Biggest defeat
 France 3–0 Nigeria 
(Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago; 30 September 2001)
 Benin 3–0 Nigeria 
(Porto-Novo, Benin; , 2009)
FIFA U-17 World Cup
Appearances12 (first in 1985)
Best resultChampions (1985, 1993, 2007, 2013, 2015)
Africa U-17 Cup of Nations
Appearances10 (first in 1995)
Best resultChampions (2001, 2007)

The Nigeria national U-17 football team, known as the Golden Eaglets, is the youngest team that represents Nigeria in football.[1] The team is the most successful in international football for their age group, winning a record five FIFA U-17 World Cup titles[2] and have been runners-up on three occasions. They are also two-time Africa U-17 Cup of Nations champions with their most recent title at the 2007 edition.[3]

History

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The team won the maiden edition of FIFA U-17 World Cup in 1985 hosted by China, as well as the 1993, 2007, 2013, and 2015 editions (becoming only the second team since Brazil to win it back to back); making them the first team ever to win the junior world cup five times.[4] They also won the African Under-17 Championship in 2001 and 2007, and were runners-up in 1995 and 2013.

After the 2007 World Cup victory there was some discussion as to whether the success should be rewarded in the form of cash, or if longer-term investments were more suitable for teenage players. It was pointed out that some previous players had found themselves reduced to poverty due to injury or mismanagement of their funds.[4]

Heading into the 2009 FIFA U-17 World Cup, head coach Henry Nwosu was replaced by John Obuh, coach of Kwara United.[5]

Although Nigeria failed to qualify for the 2011 FIFA U-17 World Cup, they participated again in the 2013 edition of the tournament. Planning was thrown into disarray however in August when key members of the team was determined by MRI scanning to be overage and excluded from the team.[6] In their first match, the team defeated the defending champions Mexico with a 6–1 score. They only failed to defeat Sweden in the group stage, but they did so in the semi-finals. In the final match they defeated Mexico for a second time, obtaining their fourth U-17 World Cup[7] and becoming the national team to win the most U-17 tournaments as at 2023.

The team were again the subject of age-cheating accusations when, a total of 26 players from the 60-strong squad were sent home from their training camp in 2016 after failing compulsory MRI scans used to determine age ahead of an African Cup of Nations qualifier.[8] Amidst all the age cheating accusations, the team has never been found guilty of fielding overage players in any competition. All the players accused of being overage were caught at the Abuja training camp and sent home before they played any game for the team.[6][8]

Competitive record

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FIFA U-17 World Cup record

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FIFA U-17 World Cup record
Year Round Position GP W D* L GS GA
China 1985 Champions 1st 6 4 2 0 10 2
Canada 1987 Runners-up 2nd 6 3 2 1 7 5
Scotland 1989 Quarter-finals 6th 4 2 2 0 7 0
Italy 1991 did not qualify
Japan 1993 Champions 1st 6 6 0 0 20 3
Ecuador 1995 Quarter-finals 7th 4 2 1 1 6 4
Egypt 1997 did not qualify
New Zealand 1999
Trinidad and Tobago 2001 Runners-up 2nd 6 5 0 1 14 5
Finland 2003 Group stage 11th 3 1 1 1 3 3
Peru 2005 did not qualify
South Korea 2007 Champions 1st 7 6 1 0 16 4
Nigeria 2009 Runners-up 2nd 7 5 1 1 17 7
Mexico 2011 did not qualify
United Arab Emirates 2013 Champions 1st 7 6 1 0 26 5
Chile 2015 Champions 1st 7 6 0 1 23 5
India 2017 did not qualify
Brazil 2019 Round of 16 15th 4 2 0 2 9 9
Indonesia 2023 did not qualify
Qatar 2025
Total 12/20 5 Titles 67 48 11 8 158 52

U-17 Africa Cup of Nations record

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U-17 Africa Cup of Nations
Year Round Position GP W D* L GS GA
Mali 1995 Runners-up 2nd 5 4 0 1 13 5
Botswana 1997 did not qualify
Guinea 1999 Group stage 6th 3 1 1 1 5 5
Seychelles 2001 Champions 1st 5 3 2 0 13 4
Eswatini 2003 Third place 3rd 5 4 0 1 9 2
The Gambia 2005 Group stage 6th 3 1 1 1 8 6
Togo 2007 Champions 1st 5 5 0 0 15 1
Algeria 2009 did not qualify
Rwanda 2011
Morocco 2013 Runners-up 2nd 5 3 1 1 18 5
Niger 2015 Fourth place 4th 5 2 1 2 7 6
Gabon 2017 did not qualify
Tanzania 2019 Fourth place 4th 2 2 1 2 5 9
Algeria 2023 Quarter-finals - 4 2 0 2 5 5
Ivory Coast 2025 Did not qualify
Total 10/15 2 titles 45 27 7 11 98 58

A gold background colour indicates that Nigeria won the tournament.

*Draws include knockout matches decided on penalty kicks.

Team honours and achievements

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Intercontinental

Continental

Others

Staff

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Management

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  • Team Coordinator: Suleiman Abubakar
  • Secretary: Egbaiyelo Tayo
  • Media Coordinator: Morakinyo Abodunrin

Sports

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  • Head coach: Nduka Ugbade
  • Assistant coach:
  • Assistant coach:
  • Scout:
  • Goalkeeper coach:

Medical

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  • Doctor: Olarinoye Ayodeji
  • Physiotherapist: Oyegunna Gabriel
  • Equipment Manager: Mohammed Kafa Usman

Current squad

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The following players were named in the squad for the 2023 U-17 Africa Cup of Nations between 29 April – 19 May.[9]

Caps and goals are correct as of 1 May 2023, after the match against Mali.

No. Pos. Player Date of birth (age) Caps Goals Club
1 1GK Richard Odoh (2006-11-23) 23 November 2006 (age 18) 3 0 Nigeria HB Abuja
16 1GK Temiloluwa Adelakin (2006-06-12) 12 June 2006 (age 18) 0 0 Nigeria Box2Box
23 1GK Gift Adie (2007-02-07) 7 February 2007 (age 17) 0 0 Nigeria Paul E
2 2DF Yahaya Lawali (2006-06-06) 6 June 2006 (age 18) 3 0 Nigeria Mahanaim
3 2DF Emmanuel Michael (2006-06-16) 16 June 2006 (age 18) 3 0 Nigeria Simon Ben
5 2DF Joseph Ogboji (2006-12-15) 15 December 2006 (age 18) 3 0 Nigeria Purple Crown
6 2DF Jeremiah Olaleke (2006-02-20) 20 February 2006 (age 18) 3 0 Nigeria Ablaze
15 2DF Israel Usulor (2007-06-20) 20 June 2007 (age 17) 0 0 Nigeria Real Sapphire
21 2DF Chijoke Linus (2006-07-31) 31 July 2006 (age 18) 0 0 Nigeria Triple 44
22 2DF Quadri Adewale (2007-09-07) 7 September 2007 (age 17) 1 0 Nigeria Nathaniel Boys
4 3MF Haruna Abdullahi (2007-01-01) 1 January 2007 (age 17) 0 0 Nigeria Kurfi Tigers
7 3MF Umar Abubakar (2006-02-15) 15 February 2006 (age 18) 1 0 Nigeria Devine
10 3MF Ifeoluwa Olowoporoku (2008-07-15) 15 July 2008 (age 16) 1 0 Nigeria Triple 44
12 3MF Hope Linus (2006-08-10) 10 August 2006 (age 18) 3 0 Nigeria EE Sporting Club
14 3MF Isaac Aondoakaa (2007-08-28) 28 August 2007 (age 17) 2 0 Nigeria Bethel Sporting
17 3MF Simon Cletus (2008-02-10) 10 February 2008 (age 16) 0 0 Nigeria Mavlon
24 3MF Musa Akinfenwa (2007-09-04) 4 September 2007 (age 17) 0 0 Nigeria Real Sapphire
25 3MF Usman Owoyemi (2006-08-21) 21 August 2006 (age 18) 3 0 Nigeria Triple 44
26 3MF Matthew Kingsley (2006-11-26) 26 November 2006 (age 18) 0 0 England Brooke House College
8 4FW Abubakar Abdullahi (2006-01-27) 27 January 2006 (age 18) 3 1 Nigeria Jega United
9 4FW Precious Williams (2006-10-02) 2 October 2006 (age 18) 3 0 Nigeria HB Abuja
11 4FW Charles Agada (2006-09-03) 3 September 2006 (age 18) 3 1 Nigeria Mavlon
13 4FW Jubril Azeez (2006-09-08) 8 September 2006 (age 18) 0 0 Nigeria Right Vision
18 4FW Simeon Ogbadibo (2007-06-20) 20 June 2007 (age 17) 3 0 Nigeria Jossy United
19 4FW Light Eke (2006-04-14) 14 April 2006 (age 18) 3 1 Nigeria C & C
20 4FW Favour Daniel (2006-03-12) 12 March 2006 (age 18) 2 1 Nigeria G12

Notable former players

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See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Fifa U17 World Cup: Champions Nigeria must avoid stereotypes in modern age | The National". Thenational.ae. 9 November 2013. Archived from the original on 21 January 2016. Retrieved 15 February 2014.
  2. ^ "Which team won the FIFA U-17 World Cup the most times?". FIFA. Retrieved 5 July 2024.
  3. ^ "Golden Eaglets miss out on 3rd U17 AFCON title with lots of work to do". May 2019. Archived from the original on 2 May 2019. Retrieved 18 September 2019.
  4. ^ a b "Nigeria: Golden Eaglets - Return of the Argonauts". Archived from the original on 6 April 2012.
  5. ^ Egbokhan, John (13 August 2009). "Nwosu predicts doom for Eaglets". Archived from the original on 15 October 2017. Retrieved 15 October 2017.
  6. ^ a b Okeleji, Oluwashina (19 August 2013). "Nigeria U-17 players fail age tests ahead of the World Cup". BBC. Archived from the original on 5 April 2019. Retrieved 15 October 2017.
  7. ^ "Golden Eaglets are world champions: Nigeria U17 defeats Mexico 3- 0". afripol.org. Retrieved 5 July 2024.
  8. ^ a b "Nigeria's under-17 squad wiped out as half are older than 17". Independent Uk. 5 August 2016. Archived from the original on 20 June 2022. Retrieved 15 October 2017.
  9. ^ "Nigeria Squad List" (PDF). Confederation of African Football. Archived (PDF) from the original on 26 April 2023. Retrieved 7 May 2023.
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Head-to-head record

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The following table shows Nigeria's head-to-head record in the FIFA U-17 World Cup.

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