Nigeria’s under-20 women’s football team, the Falconets, suffered a 1-3 loss to Germany on Thursday in their second Group D match at the ongoing 2024 FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup in Colombia.
The match, held at the Estadio Metropolitano de Techo in Bogota, saw the Falconets struggle to match the pace and precision of the German team. Germany took an early lead in the 17th minute, with Sehitler Alara capitalizing on a defensive error by Nigeria.
Although Nigeria regrouped after halftime and equalized in the 50th minute through Chiamaka Okwuchukwu, Germany quickly responded. Sofie Zdebel restored the lead for the Germans in the 61st minute, and a third goal from Sarah Ernst in the 79th minute sealed the win for the three-time champions.
The Falconets were denied a second equalizer when VAR disallowed their goal, further frustrating their comeback efforts. The loss leaves Nigeria with three points, while Germany sits at the top of Group D with six points.
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Nigeria must now secure a win in their final group match against Venezuela on Saturday to keep their hopes of progressing to the Round of 16. Germany will face Korea Republic in their final group game.
The 2024 FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup is the 11th edition of the FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup, the biennial international women’s youth football championship contested by the under-20 women’s national teams of the member associations of FIFA. The tournament has been expanded by FIFA to feature 24 teams.
The tournament is hosted by Colombia from 31 August to 22 September 2024. It is the third time that Colombia has hosted a FIFA tournament. It’s also the first time that Colombia has hosted a FIFA women’s tournament. Colombia were announced as the 2024 Women’s U-20 World Cup hosts following the FIFA Council meeting on 25 June 2023 in Zürich, Switzerland.
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