Nigeria’s Falconets head coach Moses Aduku is confident that his team can recover from their opening-day defeat by Spain and qualify for the knockout stages of the 2026 FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup, Made In Africa Sport reports.

Nigeria began their Group F campaign with a defeat by Spain on Monday, leaving the Falconets needing a positive result against China PR in their second fixture.

Aduku admitted that his side failed to produce the performance expected of them against Spain but insisted there was enough time to recover with two group matches still to play.

Speaking after the match, the coach told FIFA‘s official website that Nigeria would use the remaining fixtures to correct their mistakes and secure qualification.

“We did not come to the party today; we did not play. But all the same, we have two more games to play; we will get it right. Of course, we are going to go through [to the knockout rounds]. I am confident. We did not play today,” Aduku said, according to FIFA.com.

Uzoma demands response

Falconets captain and goalkeeper Christiana Uzoma also urged her teammates to remain positive after the defeat.

In a post-match interview with FIFA’s media team, Uzoma said the players remained confident of responding in their next fixture.

“Well, we can’t give up because we’ll come back in the next game. We believe that we are going to win the next game,” Uzoma said.

The defeat leaves Nigeria with little room for another poor result as they continue their campaign in Group F.

Aduku said the team would return to work quickly, review their performance against Spain and address the problems identified before the China match.

China next for Falconets

Nigeria will face China PR on Thursday at Arena Sosnowiec in Poland, with kick-off scheduled for 5 pm.

The fixture will be crucial to the Falconets’ hopes of reaching the knockout stages, with the result potentially determining whether they remain in contention for a place in the next round.

A positive result would give Nigeria a chance to revive their campaign before their final group fixture, while another defeat would leave their qualification hopes in danger.

Aduku will now hope his players can produce the response he has demanded and show the level of performance that was missing against Spain.

The post FIFA U-20 WWC: Moses Aduku backs Falconets to bounce back against China appeared first on Made In Africa Sport.

The Falconets of Nigeria faced World Cup hosts, Poland, on Friday, August 28, as part of their pre-tournament test friendlies. The match, which was played at the Municipal Stadium in Brzeg, Poland, by 12 pm on Friday, ended in a 1-0 win in favour of the Falconets.

Falconets forward Mary Mamudu scored the decisive and only goal of the match deep into first-half injury time (45+1′) to hand Nigeria the hard-fought victory.
Mamudu struck right before the halftime interval, capitalizing on tactical openings created by Coach Moses Aduku‘s side.
Nigeria’s backline and goalkeeper Ijeoma Uzoma successfully held off the Polish attack to claim a clean-sheet victory.

Following the full-time whistle, team captain Christiana Uzoma expressed great satisfaction with the performance in a post-match interview courtesy of NFF Media. She noted that the win provided a massive morale boost and served as the perfect start to their localized preparation strategy.

The victory against the hosts signals a good start for the Falconets as they prepare for the 2026 FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup scheduled to start September 5.

The Falconets will play South Korea on September 1 at the Remes Resort & Spa Football Stadium at 3:00 pm for the final preparatory match before their World Cup campaign kicks off on September 7.

They will compete in a stacked Group F against Spain on Monday, September 7, and then China PR on Thursday, September 10. They will face New Caledonia in the final group stage match on Sunday, September 13.

The post FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup: Falconets defeat hosts Poland in World Cup pre-tournament friendly. appeared first on Made In Africa Sport.

The Falconets of Nigeria arrived in Poland on Tuesday, August 25, for their U-20 FIFA Women’s World Cup campaign.

Despite the visa issues encountered by Team Captain Joy Igbokwe, Sandra John, and Faridat Abdulwahab, the team travelled to Poland to prepare for their

The two-time FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup silver-medallists held their first training session in Poland today ahead of their pre-tournament test friendlies against the hosts, Poland, and South Korea.
The training session was held at the Stadion Miejski Fair Play Arena in Trzebnica, Poland.
The session is focused on tactical organization, physical fitness, and team cohesion as they prepare for the global tournament.

The match against the tournament hosts, Poland, will be held on Friday, August 28, at the Municipal Stadium in Brzeg at 12 pm local time. The Falconets will later face South Korea on Tuesday, September 1, at the Remes Resort & Spa Football Stadium, with kick-off at 4 pm, in the final preparatory match.

The matches will provide opportunities for the players to acclimatise further to the conditions in Poland, test themselves against different styles of play, sharpen their tactical understanding and gain experience against quality opposition on the world stage.

It was officially revealed today through the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) website that the players who were unable to travel with the squad to Poland for the tournament have been replaced. Team Captain Joy Igbokwe and defender Faridat Abdulwahab, who failed to secure visas in time, have been dropped and replaced in the squad.

Igbokwe, the Nasarawa Amazons midfielder, has been replaced by Vivian Kachi and Abdulwahab has been replaced by Alaba Olabiyi in the 21-player travelling squad. Sandra John will also not be joining the squad in Poland.

Head Coach Moses Aduku and his technical crew have continued to demand maximum commitment from the players as the team fine-tunes its approach ahead of the tournament.

The Falconets will compete in a stacked Group F against Spain on Monday, September 7, and then China PR on Thursday, September 10. They will face New Caledonia in the final group stage match on Sunday, September 13.

Nigeria will be aiming to go a step further in Poland and secure the country’s first-ever FIFA U20 Women’s World Cup title.

The post FIFA Women’s U-20 World Cup: Falconets Begin Poland Preparations as Visa Issues Force Squad Changes appeared first on Made In Africa Sport.