By Teddy Oscar Chukwugekwu
Oscar Precious made sure that history stays intact for Nigeria as having not missed an edition of the tournament since it participated in the inaugural FIFA U-19 Women’s World Championship in 2002 in Canada before it was raised to U-20 in 2006.
The tournament was, however, officially rebranded as a ‘World Cup’ from 2008 onwards.
Nigeria’s qualification for the 2026 FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup in Poland on Saturday was not an easy one as the U-20 women’s national team, the Falconets, were trailing 2-0 to the Young Scorchers of Malawi at the Bingu National Stadium, Lilongwe, Malawi in the second leg of their final qualifying fixture.
The Falconets progressed to the global tournament with a 3-2 aggregate victory after their 2-0 win in the first leg proved decisive.
Malawi came into the encounter determined to overturn the deficit, and made a bright start in front of their home supporters.
Their early pressure paid off in the ninth minute when Faith Chimzimu headed home a well-delivered free-kick beyond Nigerian goalkeeper, Uzoma, to reduce the aggregate scoreline.
The hosts continued to dominate proceedings throughout the opening half in search of another goal that would level the tie on aggregate, but Nigeria managed to hold firm before the break.
Malawi maintained their intensity after the restart, and found the second goal eleven minutes into the second half.
Chimzimu completed her brace, following a swift counter-attacking move, racing into the penalty area before calmly chipping the ball past Uzoma.
However, the Falconets responded positively to the setback and pulled one back in the 62nd minute through Precious, who capitalised on a defensive mistake by the hosts and fired emphatically into the top corner.
The crucial away goal ultimately sealed Nigeria’s qualification as the Falconets booked their place at the 2026 FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup scheduled to hold in Poland in September.