Nigeria’s Falconets have secured qualification for the 2026 FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup 2026 in Poland despite suffering a 2-1 defeat to Malawi in the second leg of their final qualifying fixture, Nigeriasoccernet.com reports.
The encounter, played at the Bingu National Stadium on Saturday, saw the hosts push Nigeria to the limit, but the Falconets advanced with a 3-2 aggregate victory after winning the first leg 2-0 in Ikenne, Ogun State.
Malawi’s star forward Faith Chimzimu scored in the 9th and 56th minutes to put the Nigerian side under serious pressure and briefly raise hopes of a comeback for the Young Scorchers.
However, substitute Precious Oscar scored a crucial goal in the 62nd minute to restore Nigeria’s aggregate advantage and ultimately seal qualification for the tournament.
The Falconets endured a tense finish in Lilongwe but showed resilience to secure one of Africa’s four tickets to the global competition scheduled to take place in Poland from September 5 to 27, 2026.
With the qualification, Nigeria maintained its remarkable record of never missing a single edition of the FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup since the competition began.
Before overcoming Malawi, the Falconets had eliminated Rwanda U20 Women 5-0 on aggregate and defeated Senegal U20 Women 3-1 on aggregate during the qualification campaign.
Uche Dozie