Nigeria suffered a humiliating 4–0 loss to Argentina in the round of 16 at the FIFA U-20 World Cup Chile 2025, bringing their campaign to a bitter end. The Flying Eagles found it difficult to handle Diego Placente’s team’s unrelenting zeal, but the South Americans were merciless and clinical, scoring twice in each half to secure their spot in the quarterfinals.
After Dylan Gorosito’s cross left goalkeeper Ebenezar Harcourt alone, Alejo Sarco slipped home from close range to set the tone for a dominant performance in the first two minutes.
Argentina’s early pressing and movement seemed to unnerve Aliyu Zubairu’s players, making it a dreadful start.Their pressure pushed Nigeria’s midfield to make mistakes, and in the 53rd minute, Carrizo calmly tapped past Harcourt for Argentina’s third goal and his second of the evening after Milton Delgado had robbed Daga midway. Conversely, Argentina handled the last moments with poise, controlling the pace and maintaining possession as they easily advanced to the round of eight.
Moments of indiscipline, including the second-half bookings of Emmanuel Ekele and Nasiru Salihu, added to Nigeria’s dissatisfaction. After analyzing the incident, the referee waived away requests for a possible penalty to the Flying Eagles in the first half, although the VAR was briefly consulted.
