Nigeria’s U-20 girls, the Falconets, thrashed their visitors, She-Amavubi of Rwanda, 4–0 in a 2026 FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup second-round, second-leg qualifying match in Ibadan.
The Falconets displayed fantastic football artistry and dominated proceedings from the start to the end of the encounter.
Falconets were in cruise control as Precious Oscar bagged the game opener in the 15th minute of the game, throwing jubilations in the midst of a teeming crowd of fans who had trooped to the stadium to watch the national female football team live.
Fatimoh Adesina converted a sublime free kick in the 20th minute to double the lead for the hosts, while Janet Akekoromowei consolidated the scoring sheet for the Falconets in the 64th minute, firing a powerful strike from the box line into Rwanda’s net to hand the hosts a comfortable lead.
She-Amavubi would have secured a consolation goal in the 79th minute, but the reflexes of Falconets goalie Christiana Uzoma frustrated the Rwanda strikers’ efforts.
Taiwo Afolabi put the icing on the Falconets’ victory cake with the fourth goal just at the official regulated time, making the match a goal-rainy game for the hosts.
Speaking during a post-match news conference, Falconets head coach Moses Aduku commended the fighting spirit of She-Amavubi, noting that the visitor refused to give up, even till the last whistle.
He noted that the Falconets and the technical crew carefully watched the tape of the first-leg game against She-Amavubi in Kigali and made necessary corrections, particularly in the goal-scoring aspect, which eventually yielded the expected results.
Also, the She-Amavubi head coach, Andre Cassa-mbungo, said he came to Nigeria with a game plan to win, but his team played against a better side.
He added that the majority of players in the She-Amavubi team were young players who were still developing themselves before Rwanda could start seeing the best of them.
The victory gave Nigeria a 5-0 win over Rwanda on aggregate, having won the first leg 1-0 in Kigali.
Nigeria will play against the winner in the game between Senegal and Algeria for the third and final round of the qualifiers.
The 2026 FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup would be the 12th edition of the tournament, scheduled to be hosted by Poland.
(NAN)
