Nigeria’s Falconets secured a 2-0 victory over Malawi in the first leg of their 2026 FIFA U20 Women’s World Cup Qualifiers at Ikenne on Saturday.
The Falconets came into the game looking to gain an advantage ahead of the return leg. Having achieved that, they are now one step away from reaching the World Cup scheduled for September 2026.
After a goalless first half, Nigeria opened the scoring few seconds into the second half. A brilliant cross into the box caused confusion among Malawi’s players, leading to an own-goal by Kenneth Maureen.
10 minutes after breaking the deadlock, the Falconets extended their lead. This time, Ifeanyi Kindness was the goalscorer, showing composure to skip past the goalkeeper, before passing the ball into an empty net.
More Read
The two second half goals were enough for Moses Aduku’s side to secure a crucial victory before the second leg away from home.
The Falconets will now be aiming to finish the job and claim one of the four tickets to represent Africa at the FIFA U20 Women’s World Cup.
The team have qualified for every edition of the competition and have been runners-up twice, losing to Germany on both occasions, in 2010 and 2014.
The 12th edition of the FIFA U20 Women’s World Cup will be held in Poland from 5 – 27 September 2026.
© 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.
