FIFA U-17: Nigeria 2009 Update, Wed., Nov. 04

The United States was knocked out of the U-17 World Cup after getting beaten 2-1 by Italy on Wednesday.

During an afternoon when temperatures reached 93 degrees on the Ahmadu Bello Stadium pitch in Kaduna, Nigeria, the United States Men's National Team bowed out of the U-17 World Cup with a 2-1 loss to Italy.

Wilmer Cabrera's side had chances -- most notably Jack McInerney's penalty kick that was saved by Azzurrini goalkeeper Francesco Bardi -- but ultimately the Americans were the second-best side. They return to the States having done one match better than their U-20 counterparts, but will still be disappointed in the result. READ MORE


Colombia upset Argentina and Italy scraped past the USA in continuation of the World Cup in Nigeria...

Ten-man Argentina lost out to Colombia in an all-South American clash, while USA fell to Italy in the round of 16 matches at the FIFA Under-17 World Cup in Nigeria on Wednesday. At the Gateway International Stadium in Ijebu Ode, Argentina raced into a 2-0 lead after 56 minutes with goals from Leandro Gonzalez and Sergio Araujo, who netted his third goal of the competition. Argentina goalkeeper Damian Martinez pulled off several saves to keep out their fellow South Americans for an hour. READ MORE



Switzerland and Turkey march into the last eight of the FIFA U-17 World Cup Nigeria 2009...
The encounter between the Swiss and the Germans was a match high on drama and entertainment as two players were sent off, a total of seven goals were scored by seven different players and the game had to be decided after extra-time with scores tied at 2-2 after normal time. Lagos favourites Switzerland, who posted a 100 per cent record in the first round, were again at home at the Teslim Balogun Stadium when Ricardo Rodriguez snatched the lead for them after 35 minutes.

Germany then equalised four minutes later through Mario Gotze before Haris Seferovic regained the Swiss lead in the 49th minute. The German never-say-die spirit was again in full bloom when Florian Trinks found the target in the 78th minute to take the game into extra-time. READ MORE


Host Nigeria Prepares for Elimination Match at Under-17 World Cup The Nigerian under-17 soccer team is ready to take the next step towards defending its Youth World Cup crown, as the knockout phase of the tournament kicks off. Games in the elimination round of the FIFA Under-17 World Cup begin Wednesday afternoon in Nigeria, with the hosts set to take the field Thursday night in Abuja. The 16 teams that remain in the tournament, after a tightly contested first round, all have ambitions of taking home the trophy. And, the round of 16 will go a long way toward sorting out the pretenders from the legitimate title contenders. READ MORE

No Age Cheats At FIFA Under-17 World Cup - Officials

FIFA vice-president Jack Warner has announced that organisers are yet to detect any player who is above the allowed age at this year's Under-17 World Cup in Nigeria.
An MRI scan was introduced at this year's competition to fish out age cheats, but Warner disclosed at a press briefing in Abuja that thus far no negative report has been turned in from the random testing conducted on teams at the tournament. READ MORE

Eaglets set to swoop on New Zealand

An emphatic victory is definitely what fans of the Golden Eaglets expect against a New Zealand team whose qualification for this stage of the FIFA U-17 World Cup is something of a surprise, and who will definitely be playing without pressure as they have nothing to lose having been given no chance of making it out of the first round. READ MORE

Soccer: Young All Whites aiming for Cup victory - coach

No one would dare suggest the Young All Whites will not mean business when they run on to the National Stadium for the last of the eight second-round matches at Fifa Under-17 World Cup in the Nigerian capital, Abuja, early tomorrow morning. The New Zealand TAB has New Zealand at $7 to beat Nigeria ($1.08) - the longest odds of the 16 surviving teams - but coach Steve Cain is not fazed by that. READ MORE

African Teams Find Mixed Results at Under-17 World Cup

Africa's representatives at the FIFA Under-17 World Cup have experienced varying levels of success in Nigeria. After a first round with highs and lows for the continent's teams, two of five remain for the knockout rounds. The final first round matches at the Under-17 World Cup came to a conclusion Sunday, and the pairings for the knockout rounds were finalized. Disappointingly for the African hosts, the final group of 16 teams that will battle it out for the youth championship this year lacks the normally large number of African teams. READ MORE

…Spanish coach warns Burkina Faso to prepare for the worst in round of 16

Moments after dispatching Malawi 4–1 in their last group match, Spain Coach, Gines Melendez, declared that his team were ready for yet another African challenge as they face Burkina Faso in their round of 16 fixture billed for the Sani Abacha Stadium, Kano on Thursday. "Burkina Faso are no doubt a good side, but we are ready for them. We shall give them a good fight like we did in all our previous matches," he said at the post match meeting with the aid of an interpreter. READ MORE

Iran rearguard face Celeste test

The group stages are a thing of the past now at Nigeria 2009, meaning each game is a do-or-die affair from here on out. It will be a case of win or go home in Calabar when Uruguay make their first visit to the venue. The Iranians have yet to concede a goal in their three group matches, setting themselves up as one of the defensive bastions of these U-17 finals. The rearguard is led ably by the Zob-Ahan-based trio of captain Ali Goudarzi, Iman Shirazi and Bahman Maleki. In attack the young Team Melli have been slightly less assured, but they did manage three goals in Group C thanks in large part to the attacking play of striker Payam Sedeghian and creative sparkplug Afshin Esmaeil. READ MORE

KANO state government has spent over N1billion to ensure a successful hosting of the on-going U-17 World Cup soccer competition, Governor Ibrahim Shekarau has said. The governor who dropped the hint yesterday while fielding questions from sports writers in his office, revealed that the state government began preparations to ensure Kano became one of the centres since the federal government accepted to host the event last year. According to him, the state government started to accommodate the preparations in 2008 and 2009 budgets. READ MORE

With Lagos City Champions, it’s football fun all the way

DRIVING along the ever-busy Bank Anthony Way, in Ikeja, one will not fail to notice the campaign banner stretched through the length of the road. One’s curiosity is immediately aroused by the campaign message: “Lagos Own the Game”. And the question that readily came to mind was how come Lagos is suddenly claiming ownership of the round leather game? When did the Centre of Excellence become the seat of ‘crazy’ football fans. READ MORE

With open arms, Lagos welcomes the world

For the Lagos State governor, Mr. Babatunde Raji Fashola, every opportunity to market the state to the world as the ultimate destination for business and pleasure is vigorously explored. The on-going FIFA Under-17 World Cup is one of such glaring opportunity which the football-loving Senior Advocate of Nigeria didn’t allow to slip through his fingers, so says Mr. Israel Opayemi, the Country Executive Director of Wisdom Keys Nigeria. READ MORE