FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup: Falconets suffer opening day defeat against Spain

The Falconets of Nigeria lost 2-0 to Spain on their opening Group F match of the 2026 FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup on Monday 7th September.
The match kicked off at 5:00 pm at the Arena Sosnowiec.

Coach Aduku named his starting 11 an hour before the match, which included Mary Mamudu and was led by goalkeeper and Captain Christiana Uzoma.
Mamudu had been the goalscorer in two of Nigeria’s pre-tournament friendly games.

Aduku’s side went down 1-0 to the defending champions in the 13th minute after Spain’s forward Maria Garcia found the back of the net.
Despite all efforts from the 11-woman team to find an equalizer, the game went into half-time with the Falconets still on the losing side.
The Falconets conceded the second goal in the 72nd minute of the game after the Spaniards made a counterattack.

Earlier on Sunday, Head Coach Moses Aduku declared that his team will throw everything into the match against Spain.

“We are looking forward to the match against Spain with high expectations. We are ready and set to go. Spain is a good side, no doubt; let us not forget they are champions of the world at men’s senior level. However, we will approach the game like a Cup final because we want to win. The three points will put us in good stead in our group phase campaign,” Aduku said.

The two-time silver medalists currently sit in third place in Group F with China PR as table toppers after their resounding 5-0 win against New Caledonia.

The Falconets will now focus their attention on their next group match against China PR on Thursday, where they will be hoping for a win to give them a chance at qualifying for the next round.