FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup: Nigeria Beat France 1-0
Nigeria’s Under-20 National Women’s Football Team, the Falconets flagged off their campaign in the ongoing FIFA U20 Women’s World Cup on a winning note defeating their French counterparts 1- 0 in their opening game played on Friday at Estadio Nacional de Costa Rica, San Jose in Costa Rica
Playing in Group C of the championship, the Nigerian girls were exciting matching their French opponents in all departments, but after about 32 minutes of exchanges, the match was suspended due to heavy rainfall.
Centre Referee halted the match to save both teams from the bad weather. When play resumed after the rains had subsided, both teams continued from where they stopped with the Falconets showing supremacy in the game.
They dictated the pace of the match from the start and had the majority of ball possession with 52 percent as against France with 48 percent. While both teams’ shots on goal against each other were tied, they also had one yellow card each.
On resumption in the second half, both teams struggled for the ball with Mercy Idoko trying to score for the Nigerians but the French goalkeeper frustrated her efforts in the 56th minute.
France fought back well and a few minutes later had the ball in the net but was overruled by the referee. In the 85th minute, Flourish Sabastine broke the deadlock with Mercy Idoko’s pass which fetched them the late winning goal.
The French girls continued to fight back but were unable to get any goal until the game closed in favour of Nigeria.
In the other Group C game, South Korea took advantage of set pieces to hand Canada a 2-0 loss in its opening game with the first goal coming in the 53rd minute after a string of corner kicks taken by the Asians.
Canadian goalkeeper Anna Karpenko came out for the ball but failed to corral it and instead it bounced in off unlucky defender Brooklyn Courtnall, the daughter of former NHL forward Russ Courtnall, for an own goal.
Again, the Canadians were burned on another corner in the 62nd minute with Mun Hayeon rising high above substitute Holly Ward, possibly with the help of a little shove, to head the ball home at the far post.
Nigeria will face South Korea on Sunday in their next match. The Falconets are paired in Group C, alongside France, South Korea and Canada.
Meanwhile, in another match played earlier, the U.S. Under-20 team opened its run with an emphatic 3-0 victory against Ghana.
The Falconets had beaten Senegal 4-1 in Benin on March 26, 2022, to qualify for the World Cup that flagged off on August 10 and will run till August 28, 2022 in Costa Rica. – With NAN report
