Falconets pluck all points off France in 2022 WCup opener
Two-time runners-up Falconets of Nigeria on Friday morning overcame torrential rain, an hour’s delay and more rain to defeat Europe’s top team France 1-0 in the opening match of Group C at the 10th FIFA U20 Women’s World Cup in Costa Rica. Mexican referee Francia Gonzales opted to stop the game in the 20th minute […]
Action between Nigeria and France in the 2022 U-20 World Cup
Two-time runners-up Falconets of Nigeria on Friday morning overcame torrential rain, an hour’s delay and more rain to defeat Europe’s top team France 1-0 in the opening match of Group C at the 10th FIFA U20 Women’s World Cup in Costa Rica.
Mexican referee Francia Gonzales opted to stop the game in the 20th minute as a tropical rainstorm made visibility impossible for both the combatants and the umpire. The game’s suspension lasted exactly one hour.
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Eight minutes after resumption, Magnaba Folquet had to desperately head the ball away from goal as Nigeria pushed forward.
In the second half, both teams fought even harder. Two minutes before the hour mark, Mercy Idoko just failed to connect properly at the tail end of a sweet team move, and 20 minutes from time, goalkeeper Oyono Omini provided a critical block in the vital area as France surged forward.
Five minutes to the end of proceedings, Nigeria got the goal that their push, effort and enterprise deserved when Flourish Sabastine, top scorer for the Falconets in the African qualifying series, raced onto a brilliant Mercy Idoko pass, kept her composure and slotted past goalkeeper Marie-Morgane Sieber with some flourish.
The Falconets’ next game is tomorrow against the Korea Republic at the Estadio Alajuela Morera Soto. Victory in that game will automatically assure Nigeria of a place in the tournament’s quarter-finals.