The Flying Eagles suffered a narrow 0-1 defeat to Norway in their opening match of the 24th FIFA U20 World Cup on Monday afternoon in Chile.

Norway went ahead after they were awarded a contested penalty in the 9th minute, but the Flying Eagles fought hard to redeem things, only to be denied penalty awards on two occasions in the second half.

Nigeria came close to grabbing an equalizer twice as Kparobo Arierhi’s left-footed shot inside the box drifted just wide in the 47th minute, and in the 63rd minute, Tahir Maigana’s left-footed shot inside the box was stopped by the base of the upright.

The two-time silver medallists launched onslaught after onslaught against the Europeans, but Norway had too many players behind the ball in the box and foiled dozens of attempts.

The Flying Eagles will take on Saudi Arabia in their second match of the competition on Thursday, October 2.