Falconets Set Up New Zealand Clash in U20 World Cup

Falconets Set Up New Zealand Clash in U20 World Cup

Thursday, August 14, 2014 3:22 pm


Nigeria’s U20 women’s national team has set up a quarter-final clash against New Zealand after coming from a goal down to defeat England 2-1 in their final group match at the ongoing FIFA U20 Women’s World Cup in Canada.

The Young Lionesses of England needed a win to guarantee passage from the group and began accordingly when Nikita Parrish latched on to a through ball to give the Europeans a fifth minute lead.

Both sides matched each other there on until five minutes before half-time when Loveth Ayila lost a marker before equalising for Nigeria with a 25-yard effort.

The second half witnessed the referee awarding two penalties, but England’s Bethany Mead failed to convert the first penalty while Nigeria’s Asisat Oshoala converted the second just before the hour mark to complete a dramatic turnaround for the Falconets.

As a result, Nigeria will meet with the New Zealand for a place in the semi-final with the Oceania champions easing to a 3-0 win over Costa Rica to finish second in Group D and reach the knockout stages for the first time ever.

The Kiwis finished behind European champions France who eased to a 3-0 win over Paraguay in their final group match to finish top with a perfect record and set up a quarter-final meeting with Asian champions South Korea.

The Koreans edged Mexico 2-1 in their final Group C match to finish in second place with four points, behind Nigeria with seven points, to reach the last eight while Mexico and England crashed out of the competition with two points apiece.


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