Loyeth Ayila and Asisat Oshoala scored in a come-from-behind 2-1 victory for the Super Falconets over England to secure first place in Group C and book a ticket to the quarter-finals for a sixth consecutive U-20 Women’s World Cup.
England had a dream start, scoring in just the fifth minute as Hannah Blundell played a through ball to Nikita Parris, who took one touch and then clipped a shot past the advancing Nigeria goalkeeper Ibijoke Sangonuga from the edge of the box.
The African champions drew level four minutes before the break after Ayila beat her marker and shot from 25 yards. Goalkeeper Lizzie Durack was unable to prevent the ball hitting the back of the net despite getting a hand to it.
In the second half, England’s Bethany Mead missed a penalty after Parris was adjudged to have been brought down by Sangonuga. Within minutes at the other end, Oshoala was fouled after dribbling into the penalty area. She stepped up to coolly side-foot the resultant spot-kick into the bottom-right corner.
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As the referee blew his final whistle, the victorious chanting of the Falconets was so loud it could be heard beyond the Commonwealth Stadium. Even as the team headed to their bus half an hour after the match had concluded, the Nigerians were still singing and dancing.
“It’s awesome, it’s great, especially coming back,” Nigerian forward Courtney Dike said, trying not to suppress a grin.
“Persevering and winning, it says a lot about us. We have character and we play as a team, and that’s going to take us a very long way and I’m so happy to be here right now.”
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“The moment we came out, we heard them playing their instruments and screaming and signing and that helped so much. They don’t know it but it helped so much.”
Nigerian coach Peter Dedevbo said he knew his team would rally for the win.
“We prepared them psychologically that when they played in a match like that they should be composed to come back, even if we are losing by two or three goals, and they came back well,” Dedevbo said.
“The character in my team today, I like it, and I praise my team’s effort today.”
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Nigeria will now face New Zealand in Moncton on Sunday.
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