Falconets Hold China to Goalless Draw, Keep U-20 World Cup Hopes Alive
Nigeria’s Falconets produced a much-improved defensive display to hold China to a 0-0 draw in their second Group F match at the 2026 FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup in Poland, Nigeriasoccernet.com reports.
The result keeps Nigeria’s hopes of reaching the knockout stage alive after Moses Aduku’s side suffered a 2-0 defeat to Spain in their opening game.
Aduku made changes to his starting lineup for the encounter, including Benfica new signing Janet Akekoromowei, who missed the opening fixture because of documentation issues in Portugal.
China, who began their campaign with an emphatic 5-0 victory over New Caledonia, started on the front foot and almost took the lead inside two minutes.
Li Chenyu’s long-range effort from the left beat the Nigerian defence but struck the crossbar, while Huang Jiaxin later sent a free-kick over the bar from the edge of the box in the 24th minute.
The Falconets gradually grew into the contest and created their own opportunities, with Akekoromowei coming close in the 32nd minute when her free-kick forced a strong save from Chinese goalkeeper Liu Chen.
Nigeria threatened again five minutes later after a defensive mistake presented an opportunity on the counter, but Akekoromowei’s low effort from outside the area went narrowly wide.
China continued to pose problems after the restart, with Chen Ruilin forcing a spill from the Nigerian goalkeeper with an angled effort in the 53rd minute, although the follow-up failed to produce a goal.
Nigeria thought they had been handed a golden opportunity in the 63rd minute when a handball by Huang Jiaxin resulted in a penalty.
However, a VAR review overturned the decision, denying the Falconets the chance to take the lead.
China continued to search for the breakthrough, with Yu Xingyue shooting over in the 69th minute before Yu Jiaqi’s header from a cross was saved by the Nigerian goalkeeper four minutes later.
Neither side could find the decisive goal as the match ended without a breakthrough, giving both teams a point.
Nigeria’s qualification hopes will now go down to their final Group F fixture against New Caledonia on Sunday, September 13.
The Falconets will need to win that encounter and could also require favourable results elsewhere in the group to secure their place in the knockout rounds.
Spain have already booked their place in the last 16 after thrashing New Caledonia 11-0 earlier on Thursday.
The top two teams in each group will qualify automatically for the round of 16, while the four best third-placed teams across the groups will also advance.
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