Nigeria women's national under-20 football team

Nigeria Under-20
Nickname(s)	Falconets
Association	Nigeria Football Federation
Confederation	CAF (Africa)
Sub-confederation	WAFU (West Africa)
Head coach	Christopher Danjuma
FIFA code	NGA
First colours	Second colours
First international
	Nigeria 6–0 Mali ; (Nigeria; 7 April 2002)
Biggest win
	Nigeria 10–0 Sierra Leone ; (Nigeria; 2014)
Biggest defeat
	Japan 6–0 Nigeria ; (Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea; 13 November 2016)
African U-20 World Cup qualification
Appearances	11 (first in 2002)
Best result	Champions; Qualified for World Cup (2002, 2004, 2006, 2008, 2010, 2012, 2014, 2015, 2018, 2022, 2024, 2024)
FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup
Appearances	11 (first in 2002)
Best result	Runners-up (2010, 2014)

The Nigeria women's national under-20 football team, nicknamed the Falconets, represents Nigeria in international youth women's football competitions. Its primary role is the development of players in preparation for the senior women's national team. The team competes in a variety of competitions, including the biennial FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup and African U-20 Women's World Cup qualification, which are the top competitions for this age group.

The team has qualified for every edition of the FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup and has been runners-up twice, losing to Germany on both occasions, in 2010 and 2014.

Fixtures and results

Legend

Win Draw Lose Fixture

2024

11 August 2022 (2022-08-11) 2022 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup GS	France	0–1	Nigeria	San José, Costa Rica
23:00 CST (UTC–6)		Report (FIFA) Report (Soccerway)	Sabastine 85'	Stadium: Estadio Nacional de Costa Rica Attendance: 733 Referee: Francia González (Mexico)

14 August 2022 (2022-08-14) 2022 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup GS	South Korea	0–1	Nigeria	Alajuela, Costa Rica
14:00 CST (UTC–6)		Report (FIFA) Report (Soccerway)	Onyenezide 82'	Stadium: Estadio Alejandro Morera Soto Attendance: 482 Referee: Marta Huerta de Aza (Spain)

18 August 2022 (2022-08-18) 2022 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup GS	Nigeria	3–1	Canada	Alajuela, Costa Rica
21:00 CST (UTC–6)	Onyenezide 24' (pen.), 32' (pen.) Olise 90+1'	Report (FIFA) Report (Soccerway)	Novak 2'	Stadium: Estadio Alejandro Morera Soto Attendance: 973 Referee: Lara Lee (Australia)

21 August 2022 (2022-08-21) 2022 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup QF	Nigeria	0–2	Netherlands	Alajuela, Costa Rica
17:30 CST (UTC–6)		Report (FIFA) Report (Soccerway)	Hulswit 11' Henry 33'	Stadium: Estadio Alejandro Morera Soto Attendance: 3,005 Referee: Marianela Araya (Costa Rica)

Personnel

The coaching squad for the 2022 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup was announced by the Nigeria Football Federation on 14 August 2022.^[1]

Position	Name
Head coach	Christopher Danjuma
Assistant coach	Olanrewaju Wemimo Matthew
Assistant coach I	Moses Opuamowei Aduku
Assistant coach II	Charity Nnedinma Enwere
Assistant coach III	Bilikis Aina Tijani
Goalkeeping coach	Yahaya Audu

Current squad

A 30-player preliminary squad was announced on 25 June 2022.^[2] The final squad for the 2022 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup was announced in August 2022.^[3]

No.	Pos.	Player	Date of birth (age)	Club
1	1GK	Omini Oyono	(2002-11-30)30 November 2002 (aged 19)	Bayelsa Queens
2	2DF	Chidinma Ogbuchi	(2003-12-28)28 December 2003 (aged 18)	Robo Queens
3	3MF	Adoo Yina	(2004-12-30)30 December 2004 (aged 17)	Nasarawa Amazons
4	3MF	Deborah Abiodun	(2003-11-02)2 November 2003 (aged 18)	Rivers Angels
5	2DF	Oluwatosin Demehin (captain)	(2002-03-13)13 March 2002 (aged 20)	Rivers Angels
6	2DF	Omowunmi Oshobukola	(2002-12-10)10 December 2002 (aged 19)	Edo Queens
7	4FW	Chiamaka Okwuchukwu	(2005-08-07)7 August 2005 (aged 17)	Rivers Angels
8	3MF	Esther Onyenezide	(2003-06-30)30 June 2003 (aged 19)	Robo Queens
9	4FW	Flourish Sabastine	(2004-10-20)20 October 2004 (aged 17)	Free agent
10	4FW	Blessing Okpe	(2003-10-01)1 October 2003 (aged 18)	Rivers Angels
11	3MF	Bashirat Amoo	(2002-06-06)6 June 2002 (aged 20)	Nasarawa Amazons
12	2DF	Oluchi Ohaegbulem	(2006-10-18)18 October 2006 (aged 15)	Confluence Queens
13	4FW	Mercy Idoko	(2002-12-29)29 December 2002 (aged 19)	Nasarawa Amazons
14	2DF	Rofiat Imuran	(2004-06-17)17 June 2004 (aged 18)	Rivers Angels
15	4FW	Chioma Olise	(2005-03-16)16 March 2005 (aged 17)	Edo Queens
16	1GK	Nelly Ekeh	(2003-01-06)6 January 2003 (aged 19)	Sunshine Queens
17	2DF	Jumoke Alani	(2005-07-17)17 July 2005 (aged 17)	Edo Queens
18	3MF	Motunrayo Ezekiel	(2003-05-30)30 May 2003 (aged 19)	Naija Ratels
19	3MF	Chinyere Kalu	(2005-10-23)23 October 2005 (aged 16)	Nasarawa Amazons
20	4FW	Joy Jerry	(2002-11-25)25 November 2002 (aged 19)	Bayelsa Queens
21	1GK	Peace Obidinma	(2002-11-11)11 November 2002 (aged 19)	Edo Queens

Competitive record

FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup record

FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup
Year	Result	Matches	Wins	Draws*	Losses	GF	GA
2002	Group stage	3	0	1	2	2	5
2004	Quarter-finals	4	1	2	1	5	5
2006	Quarter-finals	4	2	0	2	13	6
2008	Quarter-finals	4	2	1	1	8	6
2010	Runners-up	6	2	3	1	6	6
2012	Fourth place	6	3	1	2	9	4
2014	Runners-up	6	4	1	1	15	7
2016	Group stage	3	2	0	1	5	8
2018	Quarter-finals	4	1	1	2	3	4
2022	Quarter-finals	4	3	0	1	5	3
2024	Round of 16	4	2	0	2	7	5
2026	To be determined
Total	11/12	48	22	10	16	78	59

African U-20 Women's World Cup Qualification record

African U-20 Women's World Cup qualification
Appearances: 10
Year	Round	Position	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA
2002	Champions	1st	6	6	0	0	19	2
2004	Champions	1st	6	5	1	0	8	0
2006	Qualified for World Cup	1st	4	4	0	0	20	3
2008	Qualified for World Cup	1st	4	4	0	0	9	2
2010	Qualified for World Cup	1st	4	4	0	0	22	4
2012	Qualified for World Cup	1st	4	4	0	0	13	0
2014	Qualified for World Cup	1st	4	4	0	0	15	0
2015	Qualified for World Cup	1st	4	4	0	0	21	3
2018	Qualified for World Cup	1st	4	3	1	0	23	2
2022	Qualified for World Cup	1st	4	4	0	0	25	2
2024	Qualified for World Cup	1st	2	2	0	0	5	2
Total	11/11	2 Titles	45	44	2	0	205	20

Football at the African Games record

Football at the African Games
Appearances: 1
Year	Round	Position	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA
2019	Champions	1st	4	2	2	0	7	1
Total	1/1	1 Title	4	2	2	0	7	1

Honours

Intercontinental

U-20 Women's World Cup
- Runners-up: 2010, 2014
- Fourth place: 2012

Continental

African U-20 Women's World Cup qualification
- Winners: 2002, 2004
- Qualified for World Cup: 2006, 2008, 2010, 2012, 2014, 2015, 2018, 2022, 2024

Football at the African Games
- Gold medalists: 2019

References

^ "2022 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup Squad List" (PDF). FIFA. 14 August 2022.
^ Ahmadu, Samuel (25 June 2022). "U20 Women's World Cup: Omewa makes Nigeria's 30-woman provisional squad". Sport News Africa.
^ "Falconets' Coach Names World Cup Squad As Team Depart For Costa Rica". Channels TV. 5 August 2022.

http://dailypost.ng/2015/09/24/falconets-to-depart-for-kinshasa-on-thursday/
"Ihezuo leads Falconets to Kinshasa for DR Congo – Goal.com". goal.com. Retrieved 2 July 2017.
"Falconets leave for Kinshasa/". punchng.com. Archived from the original on 28 September 2015. Retrieved 2 July 2017.
"NFF to invite US – based to Falconets camp | Peoples Daily Newspaper". peoplesdailyng.com. Retrieved 2 July 2017.
"Ihezuo tops Falconets list for DR Congo qualifier – Goal.com". goal.com. Retrieved 2 July 2017.
"Fifa U20 Women's World Cup- Liberia up against Nigeria's Falconet on 11 July". liberiaentertainment.com. Retrieved 2 July 2017.
"Freekicknaija.com". freekicknaija.com. Retrieved 2 July 2017.^{[permanent dead link]}
"Falconets off to Kinshasa on Thursday". thenff.com. Archived from the original on 9 September 2018. Retrieved 2 July 2017.
"Female U20: US-based Nigerian invited by NFF – The Eagle Online". theeagleonline.com.ng. Retrieved 2 July 2017.

External links

Official Nigeria Football Federation website Archived 25 November 2020 at the Wayback Machine

[1] "2022 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup Squad List" (PDF). FIFA. 14 August 2022.

[2] Ahmadu, Samuel (25 June 2022). "U20 Women's World Cup: Omewa makes Nigeria's 30-woman provisional squad". Sport News Africa.

[3] "Falconets' Coach Names World Cup Squad As Team Depart For Costa Rica". Channels TV. 5 August 2022.

[1]

[2]

[3]

v t e National under-20 women's football teams of Africa (CAF)
North Africa (UNAF)	Algeria Egypt Libya Morocco Tunisia
West Africa (WAFU)	Benin Burkina Faso Cape Verde Gambia Ghana Guinea Guinea-Bissau Ivory Coast Liberia Mali Mauritania Niger Nigeria Senegal Sierra Leone Togo
East Africa (CECAFA)	Burundi Djibouti Eritrea Ethiopia Kenya Rwanda Somalia South Sudan Sudan Tanzania Uganda Zanzibar^†
Central Africa (UNIFFAC)	Cameroon Central African Republic Chad Congo DR Congo Equatorial Guinea Gabon São Tomé and Príncipe
Southern Africa (COSAFA)	Angola Botswana Comoros Eswatini Lesotho Madagascar Malawi Mauritius Mozambique Namibia Seychelles South Africa Zambia Zimbabwe
Non-regional Members	Réunion^†
^†Associate member of CAF but not member of FIFA Football in Africa portal.

v t e 2010 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup qualification
Qualified teams	Brazil Colombia Costa Rica England France Germany Ghana Japan Mexico New Zealand Nigeria North Korea South Korea Sweden Switzerland United States
Qualification	AFC CAF CONCACAF CONMEBOL OFC UEFA

v t e 2012 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup qualification
Qualified teams	Argentina Brazil Canada China Germany Ghana Italy Japan Mexico New Zealand Nigeria North Korea Norway South Korea Switzerland United States
Qualification	AFC CAF CONCACAF CONMEBOL OFC UEFA

v t e National sports teams of Nigeria
Badminton Baseball Basketball M M U-19 M U-17 W W U-19 W U-17 Beach soccer Bobsled Cricket M M U-19 W Field hockey M W Football M M U-23 M U-20 M U-17 M CP W W U-20 W U-17 Futsal Handball M W Rugby league Rugby union M M 7 Tennis M W Volleyball M M U-21 M U-19 W
Olympics Paralympics African Games Commonwealth Games