Our girls have done it again. The Nigeria women’s U-20 football team have booked a spot in the quarterfinals of the 2018 FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup in France. This means that the Falconets have progressed into the quarterfinals in every edition of the competition. However, the Chinese ladies came too close to breaking this record when they grabbed the opener in the 41st minute and held their own firmly until the 90th minute.
The two-time finalists were all but done by China’s small-looking forward, Linyan Zhang, whose nifty bit of sleight sent Nigeria’s goalkeeper, Chiamaka Nnadozie, diving in the wrong direction as she shot right into the back of the net.
The Falconets were very eager for an equalizer and you could feel the anxiety whenever the Nigerian team held the ball and were goal-bound. But the Chinese team were no less eager to solidify their win with a second goal as both teams throbbed each other’s defence line nonstop.
With only a few seconds of the play-time left, substitute Aishat Bello sent a cross from the right into the Chinese 18’ that had captain Rasheedat Ajibade challenging for the ball with China right-back Jiaxing Dou.
The wheel of fortune spun for Nigeria when Bello’s cross bounced off Jiaxing’s thighs into the back of the net to bring the scores 1-1 at stoppage time. Fulltime Whistle!
Nigeria advanced to the quarterfinals on goal difference at the expense of the Chinese ladies who wept uncontrollably after the loss. The team will now face Group C winners, Spain, in Concarneau on Thursday.
In other quarterfinals fixtures, Group D winners Germany will face Japan, France will play North Korea while England will battle the Netherlands for a spot in the semis.
Feature image: guardian.ng