Nigeria’s Falconets will face Spain, China PR and New Caledonia in Group F of the 2026 FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup after FIFA conducted the official draw in Łódź, Poland on Friday.
The tournament will run from September 5 to September 27 across four Polish cities. Łódź, Katowice, Sosnowiec and Bielsko-Biała will host matches in the competition’s 12th edition. Nigeria secured qualification after defeating Malawi 3-2 on aggregate during the African qualifying series.
The Falconets showed resilience during those qualifiers. They won the first leg 2-0 in Ikenne before suffering a narrow 2-1 defeat in Lilongwe. That result still sealed their place in Poland. Nigeria remain one of Africa’s strongest teams at youth level and have consistently produced players for the senior national side, the Super Falcons.
Spain enter the tournament as one of the favourites because of their strong youth development system and recent success in women’s football. China PR also bring valuable international experience and tactical discipline to the group.
Meanwhile, New Caledonia will make their debut appearance at the FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup. Their arrival adds another interesting dimension to Group F.
The Falconets will hope to improve on their previous performances at the tournament. Nigeria have twice reached the final but are still chasing a first title at U-20 level.
Elsewhere, hosts Poland were drawn in Group A alongside Argentina, Mexico and Benin. Defending champions Korea DPR landed in Group E with Colombia, Costa Rica and Portugal.
Poland will host a major global women’s tournament for the first time. FIFA confirmed that the final will take place in Łódź on September 27.
Korea DPR and the United States will both target a record fourth title during the competition. Several nations, including Benin, Ecuador, Portugal, Tanzania and New Caledonia, will also make their tournament debuts.
Nigeria are now expected to intensify preparations with training camps and international friendlies ahead of the competition as the Falconets aim for another strong run on the world stage.
© Bold Sports Media. All rights reserved. If sharing, kindly credit Bold Sports as the source and include a link to the original post. Unauthorised use is prohibited.
