Nigeria’s U20 women’s team, the Falconets, booked their place in the next round of the FIFA U20 Women’s World Cup qualifiers with a commanding 4-0 win over Rwanda in Abuja on Saturday.
The hosts started brightly, with Precious Oscar opening the scoring early in the first half. Fatimoh Adeshina doubled the lead soon after with a superb freekick that left Rwanda’s goalkeeper Belise with no chance.
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Dominant in possession, the Falconets dictated the tempo through midfield duo Joy Igbokwe and Taiwo Afolabi, while Oscar and Janet Akekoromowei posed constant attacking threats.
Their pressure paid off in the 59th minute when Akekoromowei struck from distance to make it 3-0.
She almost doubled her tally four minutes later, but her cross bounced off the bar.
Kessiena Ojiyovwi thought she had added a fourth with a close-range header in the 65th minute, but the goal was ruled out for a foul on Rwanda’s goalkeeper.
However, Afolabi eventually sealed the victory with a stunning strike from outside the box in stoppage time.
The Falconets had earlier secured a 1-0 win in Kigali, making it a 5-0 aggregate triumph. With this result, Nigeria advances confidently to the next round of the qualifiers
