Esther Onyenezide’s 83rd minute strike in the 1-0 victory against South Korea has ensured that Nigeria’s Super Falconets will progress to the quarterfinals of the ongoing FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup in Costa Rica. The superb Falconets made it two wins in two games in a tournament that has had its fair share of heavy downpours of rain.
The Nigerian girls showed their intent from the blast of the whistle but the South Korean goalkeeper was in fine form, pulling all strings to keep the energetic Falconets at bay. Things changed, however, in the 83rd minute when Esther Onyenezide fired a shot from long range that nestled safely in the back of the South Korean net to break the deadlock in Alajuela.
Christopher Danjuma’s girls now sit atop Group C with six points and two unreplied goals from two matches and have qualified for the quarterfinals. The Falconets who are captained by Oluwatosin Demehin will be looking to get more from players like Sabastine Flourish and Esther Onyenezide (who won the MVP award at the end of the game against South Korea) as they continue their quest to win the U-20 Women’s World Cup title.
Meanwhile, European champions, France will trade tackles with Canada later today at 4pm (Nigerian time) while the Falconets’ last group game comes up on Thursday against Canada at 4pm.