Nigeria’s Falconets defeated England 3-0 in their Round of 16 match on Thursday, advancing to the quarter-finals of the 2026 FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup in Poland and eliminating one of the tournament’s favored teams.
Tosin Rafiu got the scoring started in the eighth minute by running onto a pass and finishing low with her left foot past the English goalkeeper, Katie Cox.
England had an opportunity to equalize before halftime when Rachel Maltby took a penalty kick, but Nigerian captain and goalkeeper Christiana Uzoma made an essential save to maintain Nigeria’s lead.
Janet Akekoromowei extended Nigeria’s lead just two minutes into the second half by taking advantage of a poor clearance from England from a corner.
Mary Mamudu sealed the score in the 73rd minute, darting into the box to finish a cutback pass from Akekoromowei.
This victory represents a remarkable turnaround for Moses Aduku’s team, which began the tournament with a 2-0 defeat to Spain and a goalless draw against China, leaving Nigeria with only one point from the first two group matches.
Needing a significant win in their last group game to proceed, the Falconets bounced back with a stunning 10-1 victory over New Caledonia, with Ramotalahi Kareem and Winner Onajite David both netting hat-tricks, allowing them to finish second in Group F and move on to the knockout stage.
The win against England, which was Nigeria’s second success in the tournament, raised the team’s overall goal tally to 13 in four matches while achieving two clean sheets.
Nigeria, a two-time runner-up in the FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup, will take on the winner of the Poland-Colombia match in the quarter-finals on Sunday, September 20.
FIFA’s official channels commented on the outcome via social media, noting that the 3-0 result has established a new record margin of victory for Nigeria against England in all World Cup encounters between the two nations.
