FIFA U20 World Cup: Nigeria vs South Korea Preview- Flying Eagles eye semi-final spot

The Nigeria U20 national team will continue their journey at the 2023 FIFA U20 World Cup with a clash against South Korea for a place in the semifinals.

The Korean side are a compact side that plays more like a team than individuality and it will be difficult to pinpoint a player to man-mark.

The team finished as Runners-up in Group F and remain unbeaten with five points after they shocked France 2-1, and drew 2-2 with Honduras before they were held to a scoreless draw by Gambia.

With a captivating 3-2 victory over Ecuador, Bae Junho not only scored a goal but also provided an assist to his teammates in their thrilling knockout match against the South American contender.

Following their victory on Thursday evening, the Koreans were drawn to face Ladan Bosso’s boys in the quarterfinals.

Meanwhile, the Flying Eagles delivered a resounding blow to the host country Argentina in the first round of the knockout stages, securing a place in the highly anticipated quarterfinals of the tournament.

The Ladan Bosso-led team put on a brilliant performance to defeat the hosts 2-0 at San Juan on Wednesday night.

The team’s relentless efforts paid off in the second half, as Ibrahim Muhammad and Rilwanu Sarki found the back of the net, securing a memorable victory.

However, the two countries are no strangers to each other in a FIFA U20 World Cup tournament as they will be meeting for the third time.

They met in the group stage of the 2005 edition where Solomon Abwo gave Nigeria an early lead in the 18th minute but two late goals from Park Chu-young (89) and Baek Ji-hoon (90+2) minutes earned the Asians maximum points.

Eight years later, the two sides found themselves in the same group once again but this time Olanrewaju Kayode’s 9th-minute goal was the difference.

On both occasions, the Koreans finished behind Flying Eagles on the group log.

Meanwhile, the two sides will face off again Sunday at 6:30 pm Nigerian time at the Estadio Unico Madre de Cuidades.