Nigeria’s Future Eagles begin their bid for a Tier C title against New Caledonia in the Round of 32 at the inaugural FIFA U-15 World Cup and Festival in Baku, Azerbaijan, on Wednesday.

The two sides reached the knockout stage after finishing third in their respective qualification groups. Nigeria placed third in Group AD, while New Caledonia finished third in Group AA.

Patrick Bassey’s team enter the match unbeaten, having collected seven points from five games. Their record includes one win and four draws, with 11 goals scored and 10 conceded.

Captain Timothy Ijach has been Nigeria’s leading performer, scoring in four consecutive matches. Wisdom Oche and Abdulrazak Mufutau have also made strong contributions during the tournament.

The Festival’s format ensures that no team is eliminated at the early stage. Instead, all participating teams are divided into six performance-based tiers according to their group positions.

Group winners advance to Tier A, where they compete for the overall title. The runners-up are placed in Tier B, while third-placed teams, including Nigeria, enter Tier C.

A total of 32 teams will contest the Tier C knockout bracket. Nigeria and New Caledonia will meet in one of the Round of 32 fixtures on Wednesday.

The round of 16 and placement matches are scheduled for Thursday 29th, before the Tier finals take place on Friday 30th October. Those finals will determine the final rankings in each tier.