Today in history: Golden Eaglets win inaugural FIFA U-16 World Cup

Today makes it 36 years since Nigeria’s first set of Golden Eaglets won the first edition of the FIFA U-16 World Cup in China with a squad of schoolboys picked up from all over the country. Let us take a trip down the memory lane.

SQUAD

1.GK Lucky Agbonsevbafe
2 DF Tenworimi Duere
3 DF Nduka Ugbade
4 DF Fatai Atere
5 DF Binabei Numa
6 MF Kingsley Aikhionbore
7 MF Salisu Nakade
8 MF Sani Adamu
9 FW Jonathan Akpoborie
10 FW Victor Igbinoba
11 FW Bilia Momoh
12 GK Imama Amapakabo
13 DF Baldwin Bazuaye
14 FW Joseph Babatunde
15 DF Chukwuma Nwoha
16 MF Mohamed Yahaya
17 MF Hilary Adiki
18 MF Dele Abubakar

The squad was coached by coach Sebastian Broderick-Imasuen.

TOURNAMENT RUN-IN

Nigeria finished in second place behind Saudi Arabia in group C that had Saudi Arabia, Italy and Costa Rica. The Golden Eaglets won two matches and drew against Saudi Arabia to finish with five points (a win was still awarded two points in 1985) from the group stage. Nigeria secured a 3-1 win over Hungary in the quarterfinals with a brace from Bilia Momoh and one goal from Victor Igbinoba. In an all-African semifinal against Guinea, Fatai Atere scored the only goal for Nigeria in a 1-1 draw. The Golden Eaglets went on to win 4-2 on penalties. Nigeria defeated West Germany 2-0 in the final, with the goals coming from Jonathan Akpoborie and Victor Igbinoba.

The Nigeria team was completely made up of boys picked from various school teams, whereas their counterparts played for some of the most illustrious clubs in their respective countries. The team was captained by Nduka Ugbade, who has passed on the torch in his own way as he coached Kelechi Iheanacho and Isaac Success to glory with the Golden Eaglets in the 2013 edition of the competition. Imama Amapakabo has also tasted success as a coach, leading Enugu Rangers to the NPFL title in 2016. Baldwin Bazuaye was appointed as Katsina United coach in the 2020/21 NPFL season.