Nigeria’s Falconets have reached the last 16 of the FIFA U20 Women’s World Cup after defeating Venezuela 4-0 in their final group match at the Estadio Olimpico Pascual Guerrero, Colombia on Saturday night.
Amina Bello, Chiamaka Okwuchukwu, and Flourish Sebastine all scored in the first half to put Christopher Danjuma’s side in firm control before Joy Igbokwe added more gloss in stoppage time.
The victory is the Falconets’ second from three Group D fixtures, with Nigeria amassing six points, the same as Germany.
In the thrilling encounter, Okwuchukwu set up Bello to slot in the opener on 16 minutes before she scored the second with a header on 28 minutes. Sebastine was on hand to tap in deep into the added time of the first half for the third goal.
The Falconets then netted the fourth in added time after 90 minutes; Igbokwe, on as a substitute, scored a screamer from distance with the last kick of the game.
Despite finishing on the same number of points as group winners, Germany (six apiece), the Falconets were dwarfed by inferior head-to-head and goals difference to the Europeans.
Nigeria is set to face the top-ranked country in Group E, a slot to be taken by either Japan or Austria.
The Falconets’ reached the final of the competition in 2010 and 2014 and were bronze medalists in 2012.
