Nigeria U20 women’s national team, the Falconets, secured qualification for the 2026 FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup despite a 2-1 defeat to Malawi in the second leg of their final-round qualifier on Saturday, www.aclsports.com reports.
At the Bingu National Stadium in Lilongwe, the Falconets advanced with a 3-2 aggregate victory after their 2-0 first-leg win in Nigeria proved decisive.
Malawi started brightly and took the lead in the ninth minute through Faith Chimzimu, who finished clinically to hand the hosts early momentum. Nigeria created several chances but failed to find an equaliser before halftime.
The hosts continued to press for another goal and were rewarded in the 56th minute when Chimzimu grabbed her second of the match to level the tie on aggregate and set up a tense finish.
Nigeria responded quickly, however, restoring their aggregate advantage six minutes later. Substitute Oscar Precious scored a crucial goal in the 62nd minute to calm nerves on the Nigerian bench and put the Falconets back in control of the contest.
Both sides continued to push forward in search of another goal, but the Falconets remained compact defensively and managed the closing stages well to protect their aggregate lead.
With the result, Nigeria booked their place at the 2026 FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup, which will be held in Poland from 5–27 September 2026, continuing the country’s strong record in African women’s youth football.
