Nigeria’s Falconets have been eliminated from the ongoing FIFA U 20 Women’s World Cup after suffering a 1 0 quarter final defeat to Colombia on Sunday.
A late stoppage time goal at Stadion Miejski in Łódź ended Nigeria’s campaign and sent Colombia into the semi finals.
The Falconets began the tournament poorly, losing 2 0 to Spain in their opening Group F match before playing a goalless draw against China.
Nigeria revived its campaign with a commanding 10 1 victory over New Caledonia in their final group match, a result that secured their place in the knockout stage.
Moses Aduku’s side then produced an impressive performance in the Round of 16, defeating England 3 0.
Tosin Rafiu, Seimeyeha Akekoromowei and Mercy Mamudu scored for Nigeria, while goalkeeper Christiana Uzoma saved a first half penalty to help the Falconets secure the victory.
Nigeria also started strongly against Colombia and created several opportunities.
Akekoromowei struck the crossbar in the 19th minute, while Adeshina forced Colombian goalkeeper Luisa Agudelo into an important save shortly before half time.
The game changed in the 77th minute when Kafayat Mafisere received a straight red card after a VAR review for a foul on Colombia’s Samantha Rodriguez.
Despite being reduced to 10 players, Nigeria continued to push forward, but Colombia began to exploit the spaces left on the counter.
Colombia eventually found the breakthrough in the second minute of stoppage time through Valerin Loboa.
Loboa collected a through ball and saw her first attempt saved by Uzoma, but she reacted quickly to the rebound and fired into the net to secure Colombia’s place in the semi finals.
Eagle Stars FC coach Isma’il Musa said Nigeria’s failure to convert its chances proved costly.
“For me, the major issue with the Falconets was their inability to convert the chances they created.
“They played with determination, but football is about taking your chances, and Colombia punished Nigeria late in the game. The red card also made the final stages more difficult,” Musa said.
Lagos based journalist Femi Fabunmi also attributed Nigeria’s elimination to a loss of concentration and defensive mistakes late in the match.
“The Falconets, after starting poorly against Spain, picked up and started to do well. They posted fantastic performances against big teams like China and Colombia and posted a record breaking 10 1 scoreline against New Caledonia.
“They might have crashed out in the quarter final against Colombia, but they gave a good account of themselves and only lost due to a loss of concentration and defensive blunders in the last minute of additional time.
“Going forward, some of these ladies should be drafted into the senior national team as they have already proven to be valuable,” Fabunmi said.
The tournament now moves into the semi final stage, with Spain facing Italy and Colombia taking on North Korea on Wednesday.
Musa backed Spain and North Korea to reach the final, while Fabunmi predicted a Spain versus North Korea final.
Musa said Spain have consistently performed strongly and reached the semi finals for the third time in the last four editions.
He also praised North Korea’s defensive record, noting that they had scored 13 goals and conceded none in their five matches.
Fabunmi, meanwhile, said the Falconets had shown enough quality during the tournament to suggest that some of the players could be considered for the senior national team.
