Falconets zoom past Venezuela, reach World Cup knockout stage

Nigeria’s women’s youth team, Falconets at the Estadio Olimpico Pascual Guerrero, walloped Venezuela 4-0 on Saturday night to qualify for the knockout stage of the ongoing FIFA Under-20 women’s World Cup in Colombia.

Three first-half goals scored by Amina Bello, Chiamaka Okwuchukwu and Flourish Sebastine put Christopher Danjuma’s side in firm control before Joy Igbokwe added more gloss in stoppage time.

The victory is the Falconets’ second win from three Group D matches, with Nigeria amassing six points, the same as Germany.  In the thrilling encounter, Okwuchukwu set up Bello to slot in the opener on 16 minutes before she scored the second with a header on 28 minutes. Sebastine was on hand to tap in deep into the added time of the first half for the third goal.

The Falconets however finish in second place due to inferior head-to-head and goals difference to the Germans, and await their knockout opponent.

The U-20 national female side are set to face the top-ranked country in Group E, a slot to be taken by either Japan or Austria. The tie will take place on September 13.