The Nigerian U-20 women’s national team, the Falconets have been eliminated from the 2026 FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup after a 0-1 defeat to Colombia in their quarter-final encounter at the Władysław Król Municipal Stadium on Sunday in Łódź, Poland.
The Nigerian players, who dominated possession during match, however, failed to convert its opportunities before Colombia scored the lone goal in added time to secure a place in the semi-finals of the tournament.
According to the statistics of the match, the Falconets controlled 58 per cent of the possession as against Colombia’s 42 per cent and recorded 14 shots to their opponents 5.
The straight red card to Kafayat Mafisere in the 76th minute for foul play proved costly for the Nigerian women who were reduced to 10 players for the closing stages of the encounter.
Colombia subsequently capitalized on it and increased the pressure in search of the decisive goal and they finally broke the deadlock in the second minute of added time when Valerin Loboa latched onto a through ball from the midfield.
Her initial effort was blocked by the advancing Nigerian goalkeeper, Christiana Uzoma, but Loboa reacted quickly to the rebound and prodded the ball into the net for the only goal of the match.
The Falconets pushed forward in search of an equaliser but Colombia held firm to secure the victory.
The defeat ended Nigeria’s campaign in spite of an impressive run in the knockout stages, which included a 3-0 victory over England in the round of 16.
The Falconets had earlier defeated New Caledonia 10-1, drawn 0-0 with China and lost 0-2 to Spain in the group stage.
According to local media reports, Colombia had defeated host Poland 1-0 in the round of 16 after recording a 0-0 draw with Portugal, a 3-1 victory over Costa Rica and a 0-3 defeat to defending champions North Korea in the group stage.
Colombia will face the winner of the quarter-final match between defending champions North Korea and Canada in the semi-final.
The other semi-final is between Spain face Italy.
The 2026 FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup, which began on Sept. 5 in Poland, will end on Sept. 27.
GIK/APA