Nigeria Defeat Rwanda In U20 Women’s World Cup Qualifiers
Nigeria’s U20 girls, Falconets, defeated Rwanda 1-0 in a 2026 FIFA U20 Women’s World Cup second round, first leg qualifying match in Kigali on Sunday.
Both teams fought hard on the pitch of the Kigali-Pele Stadium, located in the Nyamirambo district of the city, but there was no breakthrough for either side in a gritty first 45 minutes.
Alaba Olabiyi scored from a goalmouth scramble off a corner kick in the 70th minute to give Nigeria victory.
Both teams will clash in the return at the Lekan Salami Stadium, Ibadan on Saturday.
The Falconets’ delegation will return to Nigeria on Monday to begin preparations for the second leg.
A draw will be enough to book Nigeria’s place in the next round of the qualifiers.
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The 2026 FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup will be the 12th edition of the tournament. It will be hosted by Poland.
It will be the second time that Poland has hosted a FIFA tournament having hosted the Men’s FIFA U-20 World Cup in 2019. It will also be the first time that Poland has hosted a FIFA women’s tournament.
Four teams will qualify from Africa while Europe will produce six teams, CONCACAF, ASIA, CONMEBOL will produce four teams each, and two teams will qualify from Oceania.