FIFA U-20 WWC: Aduku demands more from Falconets after China draw

Nigeria’s Falconets kept their hopes of reaching the knockout stage of the 2026 FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup alive after playing out a goalless draw with China PR, with head coach Moses Aduku admitting that his side still have work to do in front of goal.

The Falconets entered the encounter looking to respond strongly after their disappointing 2-0 defeat to Spain in their opening Group F fixture, and Aduku was encouraged by the improvement in his team’s performance despite their inability to find the breakthrough.

“The honest truth is that we came to win, but I think China also showed some resilience in the game. It was not a bad game for both sides, but the little chances we created, we could not take them again,” Aduku said.

“But honestly, I saw improvement in my team in the Spanish game, so we’re getting better. So, it’s not the result we actually wanted to win, but we did not play out.”

While Nigeria showed greater attacking intent than they did against Spain, China also had their moments and will feel they missed an opportunity to secure another victory following their emphatic 5-0 demolition of New Caledonia in their opening game.

China twice came close to breaking the deadlock, hitting the woodwork on both occasions.

Li Chenyu struck the crossbar just 82 seconds into the game, while Xue Sifan also rattled the frame of the goal early in the second half as the Asian side continued to threaten.

Despite those missed opportunities, China remained unbeaten and moved closer to securing a place in the knockout stage, with the team targeting a return to the latter stages of the competition for the first time since 2006, when they reached the final.

For Nigeria, the performance represented a significant improvement from the loss to Spain, with forward Seimeyeha Janet Akekoromowei emerging as one of the Falconets’ biggest attacking threats.

However, Nigeria were unable to find a way past a determined China defence and were forced to settle for a point.

The result keeps alive the Falconets’ hopes of extending their remarkable record of reaching the knockout stage at every U-20 Women’s World Cup since the inaugural edition in 2002.

Nigeria will now turn their attention to their final group game against New Caledonia, knowing that the outcome will be crucial to their hopes of progressing to the next round.

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China head coach Wang Jun, meanwhile, was satisfied with the point, particularly given the importance of the contest in a tightly poised group.

With Spain regarded as the strongest team in the group, Wang believes the meeting between China and Nigeria was always going to be decisive in determining the Round of 16 picture.

“The situation in our group is very obvious because Spain is a very top team so the match between us and Nigeria is key for the positioning in the Round of 16,” Wang said.

“Even though we missed some chances in the game, ultimately I am very satisfied with the result.”

The draw leaves the group delicately poised, with Nigeria needing to make their final opportunity against New Caledonia count as they seek to keep their long-standing record at the tournament intact.