Nigeria's U-20 Women’s National Team coach, Moses Aduku, says the FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup has just started for the Falconets. This comes after their impressive 3-0 victory over England in the Round of 16 in Poland.
After the match, Aduku praised England’s quality but noted Nigeria’s determination and ability to take their chances made the difference. He mentioned that the team will take each game as it comes, keeping the same mindset and looking to improve as the tournament progresses.
“The English team is a very good side, and I think they underrated us. They never believed that we could play up to this level,” Aduku told FIFA Media after the game.
“But I said after the group stage that the World Cup is just starting. After the game, I told the players, ‘This game is gone. Let’s have a short celebration because we have the next game to play, so let’s focus on the next one.”
Next Match Against Colombia
The Falconets will play Colombia in the quarter-finals on Sunday, September 20, at the Stadion Miejski ŁKS in Łódź. The match kicks off at 2pm Nigerian time.
Tosin Rafiu scored the first goal against England in the eighth minute. Seimeyeha, Janet Akekoromowei, and Mary Mamudu added goals in the second half. Akekoromowei was named Player of the Match.
Earlier, Nigeria lost 2-0 to Spain in their first Group F match and drew 0-0 with China. They bounced back with a 10-1 win over New Caledonia to finish second in the group.
Colombia reached the quarter-finals by defeating hosts Poland 1-0. The game was decided by a late own goal from Martyna Bartczak in the 89th minute.
Sunday’s match will be the first time both countries meet in the U-20 Women’s World Cup.
Nigeria has participated in every edition of the tournament since 2002, finishing as runners-up in 2010 and 2014 and reaching the semi-finals in 2012. Colombia finished fourth in 2010.
The two teams have played against each other at the U-17 level. Nigeria won 3-0 in 2012 and 2-1 in 2014, but Colombia won their semi-final in 2022 6-5 on penalties after a 0-0 draw.
The winner of this match will face either North Korea or Canada in the semi-finals on September 23.
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