‎By Teddy Nwanunobi

‎Nigeria’s Falconets will hope to make amends to their woeful start in the ongoing 2026 FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup in Poland, when they file out against China PR in their second Group F fixture on Thursday.

‎The Coach Moses Aduku tutored ladies fell below expectations in their opening fixture against the defending champions, Spain, who triumphed 2-0 on Monday night.

‎But the Falconets, who will be fighting to revive their hopes of reaching the knockout stage, will face a brilliant Chinese team that thrashed debutants, New Caledonia, 5-0 at the Estadio Único Diego Armando Maradona on Monday.

‎China PR forward, Jiaxin, has warned Nigeria’s Falconets to expect a fiercely contested encounter when both sides meet, with a stunning start to the tournament by scoring a hat-trick.

‎The striker’s treble made her the first player to score a hat-trick at this year’s tournament and sent her straight to the top of the early Golden Boot standings.

‎However, the China number nine insisted that personal accolades were secondary to helping her team maintain its winning momentum.

‎“I am very excited to help the team win the match. It is an honour to be top of the goalscoring standings, and I am very happy to be the first player to score a hat-trick in this competition,” Jiaxin told FIFA.com.

‎With their attention now turning to the Falconets, Jiaxin expects a much tougher challenge against the West Africans, who must recover from a 2-0 defeat by Spain in their opening Group F fixture.

‎“I would, of course, like to win the Golden Boot award. We now need to focus on our next match against Nigeria, which will be a tough game,” she said.

‎China’s emphatic victory has given Wang Jun’s side early confidence, while Nigeria face mounting pressure to secure a positive result and keep their hopes of reaching the knockout stages alive.

‎The Falconets will need a much-improved performance against the in-form Chinese side, particularly with Jiaxin already showing her goalscoring threat.

‎Thursday’s encounter, therefore, promises to be a crucial Group F battle, with Nigeria fighting for survival, and China aiming to strengthen their position at the top of the group.