Nigeria’s Falconets qualified for their 12th consecutive U-20 World Cup after edging Malawi 3-2 on aggregate, surviving a tense second-leg scare in Lilongwe.
Nigeria’s U-20 women’s national team, the Falconets, have qualified for the 2026 FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup despite a 2-1 second-leg defeat to Malawi on Saturday. Advancing 3-2 on aggregate, Nigeria maintains its perfect record of qualifying for every edition since the tournament’s 2002 inception.
Playing before a raucous crowd at Bingu National Stadium, the “Young Scorchers” took an early lead through Faith Chimzimu in the 9th minute. Chimzimu doubled the advantage in the 55th minute, momentarily leveling the aggregate score. However, substitute Precious Oscar rescued the visitors in the 62nd minute, dispossessing a defender to slot home the decisive away goal.
The Falconets join three other African nations for the global showpiece in Poland this September. Nigeria’s resilient defense ensured this remained their only defeat of the qualifying campaign.
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