Nigeria’s Falconets are through to the quarter-finals of the 2026 FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup after trashing England 3-0 in their Round of 16 clash on Thursday at the Stadion Miejski in Bielsko-Biała.
Tosin Rafiu got the ball rolling early, cutting in from the left and beating three England defenders before drilling a low finish past goalkeeper Katie Cox in the eighth minute.
However, England pushed for a way back before the break and were handed a golden chance when the referee pointed to the spot. Falconets captain Christiana Uzoma had other ideas, guessing the right way to turn Rachel Maltby’s penalty behind and keep her side’s advantage intact at half-time.
Two minutes after the restart, Seimeyeha Janet Akekoromowei rifled home a left-footed volley to make it 2-0, a performance that later earned her the match’s Player of the Award.
England had no real answer and their possession advantage on the day counted for little against a Falconets side happy to sit in and hit on the counter.
Later, Mary Mamudu put the result beyond doubt in the 73rd minute, slotting in a third to cap off a comprehensive win. By full-time, Nigeria had turned a tight-looking knockout tie into one of their most dominant displays of the tournament, doing it all while facing more of the ball than their opponents.
This is exactly the response coach Moses Aduku had been asking for. The Falconets stumbled into the knockout rounds having lost to Spain and drawn blank against China in the group stage, only rescuing their campaign with a 10-1 demolition of New Caledonia.
The Falconets travel to Łódź on Sunday, September 20, for their quarter-final, where they’ll face whoever comes through the Poland-Colombia Round of 16 tie.
