Golden Eaglets End China Invitational Campaign With 1-1 Draw Against Hosts

Golden Eaglets End China Invitational Campaign With 1-1 Draw Against Hosts

By Niyi Busari 

Nigeria's Golden Eaglets concluded their campaign at the 2026 China Four-Nation Invitational Tournament with a hard-fought 1-1 draw against hosts China, ending a run of two consecutive defeats, BSNSports.com.ng reports.

The Nigerian U-17 side entered the fixture after back-to-back losses to Tanzania and Australia but delivered an improved performance in their final outing.

Idor Samuel gave Nigeria the lead in the 11th minute, finishing off a bright start by the Golden Eaglets. However, China's Zhang Junhao restored parity 10 minutes later as both sides went into the halftime break level at 1-1.

Despite creating chances after the restart, neither team was able to find the decisive goal, with the contest ending in a stalemate.

The result saw Nigeria claim their first point of the tournament and end their campaign on a more encouraging note before returning home to continue preparations for the upcoming WAFU B U-17 Championship.

Meanwhile, Tanzania emerged as the standout team of the tournament, maintaining a perfect record with three victories from three matches. The Serengeti Boys sealed top spot with a commanding 5-2 win over Australia in their final fixture.

Hamisi Chenga and Sadam Hussein each scored twice, while Razaki Mbengelendi added the fifth goal to complete another impressive display.

Tanzania also defeated tournament hosts China 2-0, having earlier edged Nigeria 3-2 in their opening match, underlining their strong form ahead of the FIFA U-17 World Cup in Qatar.