Nigeria’s youngest male national team, the Future Eagles, are bracing for a tough task of playing two matches per day in what promises to be a busy schedule for Coach Patrick Bassey’s squad at the FIFA U15 World Cup & Festival, Sports247 reports.
Apart from their opening fixture next Saturday, when they will play against South Sudan in the morning, every other fixture will see the Nigerian squad play twice on the same day – morning and evening – during the competition’s group stage.
Coach Bassey’s side will tackle Jordan in the morning of October 25th, then face Gambia in the evening of the same day, following which they will file out less than 24 hours later versus Cyprus on the 26th and wrap up against Pakistan in the afternoon.
Sports247’s checks of the competition’s rules and format further revealed that the inaugural FIFA U-15 World Cup & Festival will take place from October 22nd to 31st in Baku, Azerbaijan, where group stage matches would run from the 24th to 26th.
The games will be in eight-a-side formats of 20 minutes for each half – and a total of 40 – in a tier-based knockout structure, which means a new technical approach is needed from Coach Bassey (from Bichi First FC), assisted by Husaini Lawan Umar and Augustine Iyamu.
NIGERIA’S FIXTURES
Saturday, October 24
Nigeria vs South Sudan
Kick-off: 11:30 a.m. Nigeria time
Match 88 | Pitch 1
Sunday, October 25
Nigeria vs Jordan
Kick-off: 9:45 a.m. Nigeria time
Match 183 | Pitch 7
Nigeria vs The Gambia
Kick-off: 4:30 p.m. Nigeria time
Match 278 | Pitch 6
Monday, October 26
Cyprus vs Nigeria
Kick-off: 8:30 a.m. Nigeria time
Match 373 | Pitch 6
Pakistan vs Nigeria
Kick-off: 3:15 p.m. Nigeria time
Match 467 | Pitch 7
