Nigeria’s U20 girls, Falconets, fired from all cylinders yesterday afternoon to side-step England’s Young Lionesses into the quarter-finals of the ongoing FIFA U20 Women’s World Cup finals in Poland.
Playing in Bielsko-Biala for the first time since the commencement of the championship, the two-time World Cup silver-medallists showed intent from the opening whistle and were rewarded in the 8th minute when Tosin Rafiu broke the deadlock with a composed finish to put Nigeria 1-0 ahead. The goal came after early pressure from the Nigerians, with Ramotalahi Kareem and Precious Oscar also testing the English defence.
England tried to respond through Lily Dent, Princess Ademiluyi, and Rachel Maltby, but Nigeria’s backline stood firm. A Video Assistant Referee review for a penalty in the 33rd minute briefly threatened to change the momentum, but Nigeria’s goalkeeper Christiana Uzoma made a big save to deny Maltby from six yards.
Uzoma was an important performer of the day, making six big saves in a first period that the Nigeria back-line appeared to struggle to contain the big Ademiluyi.
The Falconets held their nerve to go into half-time in the ascendancy, and leading 1-0.
The second half started in perfect fashion for Nigeria. Just two minutes after the restart, Janet Akekoromowei doubled the lead in the 47th minute with a clinical strike, putting England under immense pressure.
The Lionesses made a tactical switch, bringing on Vivienne Lia for Lily Dent, but struggled to create clear-cut chances against a well-organized Nigerian midfield. Coach Moses Aduku’s substitutions proved decisive in the latter stages of the game. Mary Mamudu, introduced in the 61st minute for Ramotalahi Kareem, made an immediate impact. In the 73rd minute, she latched onto an assist from Precious Oscar to slot home Nigeria’s third goal, effectively sealing the contest.
England introduced fresh legs in Chloe Hylton, Layla Drury, Eleanor Klinger and Jessie Gale, but their efforts were frustrated by a composed and inspired Falconets. Nigeria continued to control the closing stages, with late introductions of Victory Lucky, Winner Onajite David and Folajomi Olabiyi helping to maintain the intensity.
England pushed for a consolation through Eleanor Klinger and Layla Drury, but were repeatedly caught offside and denied by Nigeria’s disciplined defending.
The Falconets will on Sunday take on Colombia, the winner of the Round of 16 clash with host Poland yesterday.
That quarter-final duel is slated for the Władyław Król Municipal Stadium in Łódź, starting from 2pm Nigeria time.
At the final whistle, Aduku said: “We are very happy with this victory. The girls had a very motivating conference call with the NFF Acting General Secretary on Wednesday night and they promised to go all out today. I am happy they did that. We will go back to Łódź and aim for victory against either Poland or Colombia on Sunday.”
NFF’s Acting General Secretary, Dr Emmanuel Ikpeme, said: “This win is a great feat by the Falconets. We are delighted at the dominant performance and we will continue to encourage and motivate the girls until they go all the way to clinch the trophy.”