Golden Eaglets
| Nickname(s) | Golden Eaglets |
|---|---|
| Association | Nigeria Football Association |
| Confederation | CAF (Africa) |
| Head coach | Emmanuel Amuneke |
| Captain | Kelechi Nwakali |
| Home stadium | Abuja Stadium |
| FIFA code | NGA |
| African U-17 Championship | |
| Appearances | 6 (first in 1995) |
| Best result | Winner, 2001, 2007 |
| FIFA U-17 World Cup | |
| Appearances | 6 (first in 1985) |
| Best result | Winner, 1985, 1993, 2007, 2013, 2015 |
The Golden Eaglets are Nigeria's national under-17 football team.
The team won the maiden edition of FIFA U-17 World Cup in 1985 at China, the 1985 Edition tournament was sponsored by Kodak (when it was known as the U-16 tournament), 1993, 2007, 2013, and 2015 (Becoming only the second team since Brazil to win it back to back); making them the first team ever to win the junior world cup five times. They also won the African Under-17 Championship in 2001 and 2007, and were runners-up in 1995.
After the 2007 victory there was some discussion as to whether the success should be rewarded in the form of cash, or if longer-term investments were more suitable for teenage players. It was pointed out that some previous players had found themselves reduced to poverty due to injury or mismanagement of their funds.
Heading into the 2009 FIFA U-17 World Cup, head coach Henry Nwosu was replaced by John Obuh, coach of Kwara United. In 2011 planning was thrown into disarray however in August when over half the team was determined by bone scanning to be overage and excluded from the team.
Although Nigeria failed to qualify for the 2011 FIFA U-17 World Cup, they participated again in the 2013 edition of the tournament. In their first match, the team defeated the defending champions Mexico with a 6-1 score. They only failed to defeat Sweden in the group stage, but they did so in the semi-finals. In the final match they faced and defeated Mexico for a second time, obtaining their fourth U-17 World Cup and becoming the national team to win the most U-17 tournaments so far.
A gold background colour indicates that Nigeria won the tournament.
*Draws include knockout matches decided on penalty kicks.
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