Nigeria’s Future Eagles ended their campaign at the 2026 FIFA U-15 World Cup and Festival with a 2-1 defeat to Panama in the classification match for 75th place on Friday in Baku, Azerbaijan.

The Nigerian youngsters were unable to secure a winning finish, as Panama held on to claim victory and leave Nigeria with another disappointing result in the inaugural edition of the competition.

Panama made a fast start, taking the lead in the fourth minute to put the Future Eagles under early pressure.

Nigeria struggled to find an immediate response, while their opponents maintained their advantage as the contest progressed.

Panama increased their lead with a second goal after the interval, leaving Nigeria with a two-goal deficit to overcome.

The Future Eagles refused to give up and pulled one back in the 38th minute, raising hopes of a late comeback.

However, despite their effort to find an equaliser, the Nigerian side could not break through again as Panama protected their lead until the final whistle.

The defeat means Nigeria missed the opportunity to finish 75th in the tournament, bringing their participation to an end with a loss.

The Future Eagles had entered the fixture seeking to recover from their previous setback against Chile, where they drew 3-3 in regulation time before losing 3-2 on penalties in the classification semi-final.

Nigeria had earlier defeated Rwanda on penalties after a 1-1 draw to progress to the semi-final, but could not reproduce that success against Chile.

Their campaign also featured a 7-0 victory over New Caledonia in the Tier C round of 32, before a 6-3 defeat to Benin Republic ended their hopes of winning that category.

In the group stage, Nigeria finished third in Group AD with seven points from five matches, recording one victory and four draws. They scored 11 goals and conceded 10.

The inaugural FIFA U-15 World Cup and Festival brought together teams from across the world in a development-focused competition designed to provide young players with international exposure.

The tournament featured an 8-a-side format, with matches played over two 20-minute halves, and offered participating countries an opportunity to test their emerging talents against different footballing cultures.

The experience for Nigeria in Azerbaijan provided valuable international exposure for the young players, but the final defeat to Panama means the Future Eagles will return home without the winning finish they had hoped for.