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Tag: Falconets

  • Costa Rica 2022: How Falconets Defeated Senegal in Dakar

    Costa Rica 2022: How Falconets Defeated Senegal in Dakar

    Two-time World Cup silver medallists Nigeria all but assured of a spot at this year’s FIFA U20 Women’s World Cup finals after a sterling performance condemned Senegal’s U20 girls to a 3-1 defeat on home ground in Thies on Saturday evening.

    Effervescent winger Flourish Sebastine, who plays her club football for Edo Queens, hit a hat-trick in the encounter at the Stade Lat-Dior and left no questions about the Falconets’ enthusiasm and determination to fly Africa’s flag in Costa Rica in five months’ time.

    The nimble-footed forward started the carnage as early as the 9th minute, and then hit two quick goals in the second half as Senegal, who reached this stage after penalty shoot-out defeat of Mali in the fourth round, fell totally apart.

    Togolese referee Vincenta Amedome offered the hosts a consolation goal from the spot in the 89th minute, after captain Oluwatosin Demehin had tripped a Senegalese forward in the Nigerian box.

    The Falconets produced a masterclass performance with silky touches, good positioning, on-field aptitude and proficiency.

    The return leg will take place at the Samuel Ogbemudia Stadium, Benin City on Saturday, 26th March

  • Falconets land in Dakar to battle Senegal in final Worldcup qualifier

    Falconets land in Dakar to battle Senegal in final Worldcup qualifier

    Nigeria’s U20 girls, Falconets, arrived in the Senegalese capital, Dakar on Wednesday ahead of their 2022 FIFA U20 Women’s World Cup final round, first leg clash with their Senegalese counterparts.

    The two –time World Cup runners-up have amassed a total of 18 goals in five matches in this long qualifying series, jettisoning Central African Republic, Republic of Congo and Cameroon on the way. Against the Central African Republic, the Falconets hit seven goals away and four at home, before lashing the Congolese girls 4-0 in Brazzaville, leading to the Congolese Football Federation opting not to fly their girls to Nigeria for the return leg.

    Cameroon’s U20 girls showed muscle and strength in their first encounter with the Nigerian girls in Douala to end it 0-0, but fell by three goals at the Moshood Abiola Stadium, Abuja to crash out of the race.

    The Senegalese girls reached this final qualifying round after edging the Mali U20 girls 5-3 on penalty shoot-out, with both teams tied 1-1 at the end of the two-legged fourth round fixture.

    Head Coach Chris Danjuma settled for his usual suspects in the 23-girl list, including goalkeeper Monle Oyono, captain Oluwatosin Demehin, defenders Oshobukola Omowumi, Oluchi Ohaegbulem and Jumoke Alani, midfielders Esther Onyenezide and Adoo Yina, and forwards Mercy Idoko, Joy Jerry and Blessing Okpe.

    Saturday’s clash at the Stade Lat-Dior in Thies (outside Dakar) will kick off at 4.30pm Senegal time (5.30pm Nigeria time).

    Meanwhile, the Confederation of African Football has appointed Togolese official Vincentia Amedome as referee for the match. She will be assisted by compatriot Abra Agbedanou (assistant referee 1), and Mauritanians Mariem Chedad (assistant referee 2) and Aissata Amadou Lam (fourth official).

    Sabine Marie Isabelle Zoungrana from Burkina Faso will serve as the match commissioner.

    Team List

    Goalkeepers: Nelly Ekeh (Sunshine Queens); Monle Oyono (Bayelsa Queens); Inyene Etim (Abia Angels)

    Defenders: Oluwatosin Demehin (Rivers Angels); Omowunmi Oshobukola (Edo Queens); Rofiat Imuran (Rivers Angels); Jumoke Alani (Edo Queens); Motunrayo Ezekiel (Naija Ratels); Oluwabunmi Oladeji (Nasarawa Amazons); Oluchi Ohaegbulem (Confluence Queens); Chidinma Ogbuchi (FC Robo Queens)

    Midfielders: Bashirat Amoo (Nasarawa Amazons); Esther Onyenezide (FC Robo Queens); Adoo Yina (Nasarawa Amazons); Deborah Abiodun (Rivers Angels); Chinyere Kalu (Nasarawa Amazons); Anuoluwapo Salisu (Bayelsa Queens)

    Forwards: Joy Jerry (Bayelsa Queens); Mercy Idoko (Nasarawa Amazons); Flourish Sebastine (Bayelsa Queens); Taiwo Lawal (FC Robo Queens); Blessing Okpe (Rivers Angels); Tessy Ojiyovwi (Nasarawa Amazons)

  • Falconets arrive in Dakar to face Senegal, CAF appoints Togolese referees

    Falconets arrive in Dakar to face Senegal, CAF appoints Togolese referees

    Nigeria’s national under-20 women football team, the Falconets are in Dakar to take on Senegal on Saturday, the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) said on Wednesday.

    Ademola Olajire, NFF’s Director of Communications, said the Falconets have a date with Senegal in the final round of qualifiers for the 2022 FIFA Under-20 Women’s World Cup.

    “The first leg clash with their Senegalese counterparts is on Saturday at the Stade Lat-Dior in Thies, just outside Dakar, and the match will kick off at 4:30 p.m Senegal time (5:30 p.m Nigeria time,” he said.

    Olajire said the two–time World Cup runners-up have scored a total of 18 goals in five matches in the qualifying series while beating Central African Republic (CAR), Republic of Congo and Cameroon.

    “Against CAR, the Falconets hit seven goals away and four at home, before lashing the Congolese girls 4-0 in Brazzaville, leading to the Congolese Football Federation pulling their girls out of the return leg.

    “Cameroon’s under-20 girls showed muscle and strength in their first encounter with the Nigerian girls in Douala to end it 0-0, but fell by three goals at the Moshood Abiola Stadium in Abuja to crash out of the race.

    “On their part, the Senegalese girls reached this final qualifying round after edging the Mali 5-3 on penalty kicks shoot-out, with both teams tied 1-1 at the end of the two legs in the fourth round,” he said.

    Meanwhile, the Confederation of African Football (CAF) has appointed a Togolese official, Vincentia Amedome, as the centre referee for the match.

    She will be assisted by compatriot Abra Agbedanou, as assistant referee 1, and Mauritanians Mariem Chedad (as assistant referee 2) and Aissata Amadou (as fourth official).

    Sabine Zoungrana from Burkina Faso will serve as the match commissioner.

    FALCONETS SQUAD IN DAKAR

    Goalkeepers: Nelly Ekeh (Sunshine Queens); Monle Oyono (Bayelsa Queens); Inyene Etim (Abia Angels)

    Defenders: Oluwatosin Demehin (Rivers Angels); Omowunmi Oshobukola (Edo Queens); Rofiat Imuran (Rivers Angels); Jumoke Alani (Edo Queens)

    Motunrayo Ezekiel (Naija Ratels); Oluwabunmi Oladeji (Nasarawa Amazons); Oluchi Ohaegbulem (Confluence Queens); Chidinma Ogbuchi (FC Robo Queens)

    Midfielders: Bashirat Amoo (Nasarawa Amazons); Esther Onyenezide (FC Robo Queens); Adoo Yina (Nasarawa Amazons); Deborah Abiodun (Rivers Angels)

    Chinyere Kalu (Nasarawa Amazons); Anuoluwapo Salisu (Bayelsa Queens)

    Forwards: Joy Jerry (Bayelsa Queens); Mercy Idoko (Nasarawa Amazons); Flourish Sebastine (Bayelsa Queens); Taiwo Lawal (FC Robo Queens); Blessing Okpe (Rivers Angels); Tessy Ojiyovwi (Nasarawa Amazons)

  • BREAKING: Nigeria beat Cameroon

    BREAKING: Nigeria beat Cameroon

    Nigeria’s under-20 women football team, the Falconets beat Cameroon to advance to the fifth and final round of African Qualifiers for the 2022 FIFA Under-20 Women’s World Cup.

    The Falconets beat their Cameroonian counterparts 3-0 on Saturday in the second leg clash at the Moshood Abiola National Stadium in Abuja, for a 3-0 aggregate victory.

     

    Details shortly…

  • 27 players arrive Falconets’ camp ahead of qualifiers for Costa Rica 2022

    27 players arrive Falconets’ camp ahead of qualifiers for Costa Rica 2022

    The Falconets’ Head Coach, Christopher Danjuma, on Tuesday said 27 of the invited 35 players have arrived at the national under-20 women’s football team camp in Abuja.

    Danjuma told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja that two foreign-based players —- one from Denmark and the other from England —- were also expected to join the camp shortly.

    NAN reports that the camp was open ahead of the upcoming African Qualifiers for the 10th FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup in Costa Rica from Aug. 10 to Aug. 28, 2022.

    The coach explained that the invited players were mostly coming from clubs in the country’s leagues, with several coming from the under-17 cadre.

    “Most of the players were taken from clubs which played in the NWFL Super Six and Aiteo Cup finals, and I think we are still picking the best of the best according to our ability,” he said.

    Danjuma however noted that the players’ performance have been good. “We have a very young team, and our girls have been doing very well in their various leagues.

    “These players are ready to work hard with determination and a display of talents that will make them reach the top of their career.”

    He stated that his team was at the moment not facing any challenge. “The Federation is basically doing well. The accommodation is conducive, and so far there is no complaints yet from any of the players. They are well relaxed to bring out the best in them.

    “Also, with the way we are going with the set of players called to camp, these are the set of players that we will develop as the competition keeps growing on, and they are the group of players that will be a revolution in Nigerian football,’’ Danjuma said.

    He pointed out that the technical crew has like four weeks to train and camp the players and he and his colleagues would strive to achieve their aim.

    “Our players are good. So, we will do our best to play to our strength. We will not underrate any country. But Nigeria has what it takes to come out victorious against other teams.

    ‘“We will start playing friendly matches as from Saturday.

    “We are still deciding, to know which teams we are going to play against, but we are going to start intensifying efforts to play against the teams around the FCT,’’ the coach said.

    NAN reports that the Falconets have drawn bye into the second round where they will face Central African Republic (CAR).

    Nigeria have qualified for the World Cup nine times and have finished as runners-up on two occasions (2010 and 2014), and the quarter-finals four times (2004, 2006, 2008 and 2018).

    They also finished fourth in 2012 and did not go past the group stage in 2002 and 2016.

  • World Cup qualifier: 12 Falconets players decamped

    Ahead of next weekend’s Africa Zone FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup first leg qualifier against Burkina Faso, Falconets Moses Adiku has decamped 12 players out of 37 that began camping two weeks ago.

    Adiku who spoke after the training, said he retained 25 players to enable the technical crew concentrate and work on the lapses already identified.

    He said the Burkinabes were not push over in female football especially at this level and every Africa nation want to be represented at FIFA-organised competitions, adding “our players have advantage due to their involvement in our domestic league.

    “I have requested for the match tape of Burkina Faso. You know this is football, you can’t underrate any team. Women football is fast growing in Africa unlike before when our national teams had easy passage in both CAF and FIFA-organised championships.

    “My target is to win the first leg in Ouagadougou with wide margin like what the Flamingoes did to Guinea by beating them 6 -1 to make the return leg a formality. My joy is that some of the girls are not new to international competitions.

    “The girls also know the importance of the qualifier and only the best I will be selected for the match. For now the camp is injury free and I pray it continues to be injury free throughout our qualifiers,” he said.

    The Falconets yesterday played a scoreless draw with Nasarawa Amazon in a friendly match after they lost 2-1 to Abuja U-17 Boys in their first warm up game.

    The 2020 FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup will be co-hosted by Costa Rica and Panama in August.

     

  • BREAKING: Falconets crash out of U-20 Women’s World Cup

    The Nigeria Women’s U-20 team, the Falconets, have crashed out of the ongoing FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup taking place in France.

    The Falconets lost to Spain 2-1 in a quarter final tie on Thursday.

    It would be recalled that the Falconets edged the Spaniards in a group phase game in Papua New Guinea two years ago by 2-1, but the two –time silver medalists failed to pull off another victory against La Rojita to earn a berth in the championship last four.

  • U-20 World Cup: Falconets have solution for Spain, coach boasts

    U-20 World Cup: Falconets have solution for Spain, coach boasts

    Abdullahi Mansur, Assistant coach of the Falconets on Wednesday assured Nigerians that the team would overcome Spain in their Thursday’s World Cup quarter finals match.

    Mansur, who gave the assurance while speaking with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) said that the Spain had lots of technical flaws that the Falconets would cash in on to emerge victorious.

    He boasted that Nigerian U-20 women team would crush their Spaniard counterparts.

    “Spain is a good side but with many technical lapses as evident in their last match with U.S.

    ” Remember every team in this tournament is a potential champion, so we are ready for Spain,” Mansur said.

    The coach, who commended his team for an impressive outing so far, said that their goal was to advance to the finals, and urged Nigerians to continue supporting the team which is now in top form.

    NAN reports that the Falconets advanced to the knockout stage by drawing 1-1 against China in their last Group match having lost 0-1 to Germany in the opening match and beaten Haiti 1-0 in their second match.

    NAN

  • U-20 World Cup: Falconets can beat Spain in quarter-finals – Garba

    U-20 World Cup: Falconets can beat Spain in quarter-finals – Garba

    Golden Eaglets Coach Manu Garba says he is optimistic of the Falconets’ capability to beat their Spaniard counterparts in the quarter-finals of the ongoing FIFA U-20 Women World Cup in France.

    Garba, who expressed the optimism on Tuesday in Abuja in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), said the Falconets had worked well for glory in the World Cup which they were determined to achieve.

    “The Falconets have worked very hard to prepare for FIFA Women U-20 World Cup.

    “The quarter-finals is the knockout stage and it is possible to beat Spain if our girls can increase their penetration in the attack,’’ Garba said.

    The coach assured the Falconets of support of the entire country, saying that Nigeria was solidly behind them.

    He said that the team, with the help of God and hardwork, would qualify for the semi-finals.

    NAN reports that the Falconets on had Monday held China to a 1-1 draw to qualify for the quarter-finals.

    They will be filing out against Spain in a quarter-finals match on Thursday.

    NAN

  • U-20 World Cup: Falconets snatch quarter-final ticket from China

    U-20 World Cup: Falconets snatch quarter-final ticket from China

    The Nigeria Women’s U-20 team, the Falconets, have qualified for the quarter-final stage of the ongoing FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup taking place in France.

    A last-ditch effort from Rasheedat Ajibade saved Nigeria from exiting the cadet Women Cup as the Falconets forced China to a 1-1 draw.

    Just before the break, L.Y. Zhang had put China ahead and they held on to their slim till the later stages

    The Asians were stronger in defence in the second half as the Nigerian girls continued to push for an equalizer.

    With Five minutes added at the end of regulation time, the Falconets gave the last push and their effort was rewarded as Ajibade scored to bring the tie to a 1-1 draw and qualify the team for the quarter-final.

    The Coach Christopher Musa-tutored side has now scored two goals and conceded two in the tournament.