FIFA U-20 WWC: Nigeria’s Falconets qualify for Round of 16 with historic 10-1 win

Nigeria’s Falconets produced their biggest-ever victory at the FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup after thrashing debutants New Caledonia 10-1 on Sunday to advance to the Round of 16.

The emphatic victory at Stadion Miejski ŁKS in Łódź lifted Nigeria to four points and secured second place in Group F behind Spain.

After collecting only one point from their opening two matches, Moses Aduku’s side needed a victory to keep their campaign alive and responded with an attacking display that produced nine goals before New Caledonia pulled one back late in the match.

Ramotalahi Kareem opened the scoring from the penalty spot in the 17th minute before Rebecca Adegbemile doubled Nigeria’s advantage two minutes later.

Janet Seimeyeha Akekoromowei added a third in the 23rd minute, while Kareem scored again four minutes later to give Nigeria a 4-0 lead before half-time.

The Falconets continued their assault after the break, with Winner Onajite David making it 5-0 in the 60th minute.

Kareem completed her hat-trick four minutes later before Tosin Rafiu extended Nigeria’s advantage in the 70th minute.

Adegbemile scored her second in the 74th minute, and David added another a minute later as the scoreline moved to 8-0.

New Caledonia managed a consolation goal through Joceline Kourevi in the 89th minute, but David completed her hat-trick in stoppage time to round off the historic victory.

Kareem and David therefore finished with three goals each, while Adegbemile scored twice.

The result marked a dramatic turnaround for the Falconets, who had failed to score in their first two group matches.

Nigeria opened their campaign with a 2-0 defeat to Spain before playing out a goalless draw against China PR.

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The Falconets entered the final group game needing a victory, with their qualification prospects also dependent on the outcome of the Spain-China fixture.

New Caledonia, competing in the tournament for the first time, suffered another heavy defeat, losing 5-0 to China and 11-0 to Spain in their opening matches.

They leave the group stage having conceded 26 goals in three matches and scored only once.

For Nigeria, the 10-1 victory represents their biggest margin of victory in the history of the U-20 Women’s World Cup and provides a significant boost ahead of the knockout stage.

The Falconets will now turn their attention to the Round of 16, where they will seek to build on an attacking performance that finally produced the goals that had eluded them in their opening two matches.

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Tunde Eludini is a graduate of the Obafemi Awolowo University Ile-Ife, Nigeria where he studied International Relations. He is a Senior Correspondent coordinating the sports section for PREMIUM TIMES. Twitter: @tundeyeludini