The Nigeria women’s national under-20 football team, the Falconets, have secured qualification for the 2026 FIFA Under-20 Women’s World Cup after overcoming Malawi 3-2 on aggregate in the final round of the African qualifiers.
The Nigerian side booked its place in the tournament despite suffering a 2-1 defeat to Malawi in the second-leg encounter played on Saturday at the Bingu National Stadium in Lilongwe.
Malawi started strongly in front of their home supporters, with Faith Chimzimu opening the scoring in the ninth minute after capitalising on a defensive error by the Falconets.
The hosts continued to press for more goals, while Nigeria came close to equalising before halftime but were denied by the woodwork.
Malawi doubled their advantage in the 55th minute to raise hopes of a comeback, but substitute Oscar Precious delivered the decisive moment for Nigeria after dispossessing a defender and calmly scoring the crucial away goal.
The strike ensured the Falconets advanced on aggregate and confirmed Nigeria as one of Africa’s four representatives at the tournament.
The defeat against Malawi was Nigeria’s only loss throughout the qualification campaign.
The qualification also marks the Falconets’ 12th appearance at the FIFA Under-20 Women’s World Cup, with Nigeria maintaining its record of qualifying for every edition of the competition since it began in 2002.
The 2026 FIFA Under-20 Women’s World Cup will be hosted by Poland from September 5 to 27.
