WOMEN'S FOOTBALL
Super Falcons’ World Cup opponents, Australia dare to dream
Nigeria’s Super Falcons will face co-hosts, Australia in their second match of their group match.
Riding momentum and the support of a sports-mad nation, co-hosts Australia head into the Women’s World Cup dreaming of a first global title after battling for years to be counted among the heavyweights of the game.
The Matildas have travelled a rocky road since being bundled out of the round of 16 at the 2019 World Cup in France.
There were calls for coach Tony Gustavsson’s head last year as they crashed out of the Asian Cup quarter-finals, and again when they slumped to a 7-0 defeat by Spain.
However, they have since turned a corner, winning eight of their last nine matches, including a 2-0 defeat of England in London that snapped the European champions’ unbeaten run of 30 games.
Swede Gustavsson said he hoped his players could remain humble after the England upset but that has not stopped fans’ expectations from soaring into the stratosphere.
Australian Rules football and rugby league have long been the country’s favourite winter sports but soccer is now having its moment.
Fans are still buoyant after the performance of the men’s team at the World Cup in Qatar where they reached the last 16 before bowing out to eventual champions Argentina.
Sharing hosting duties with New Zealand, Australians have snapped up the lion’s share of the 1 million tickets sold so far for the women’s tournament.
More than 40,000 fans will watch the Matildas warm up in Melbourne against France a week before it starts, a local record crowd for a women’s soccer match.
Players hope home support might help them hoist the World Cup trophy and leave a similar legacy for the women’s game that England now enjoys after the Lionesses’ Euro 2022 triumph.
“If you do well at a major tournament that you’re hosting, the effects and the ripple of that can be huge,” said defender Steph Catley, who plays club football in England with Arsenal.
“It’s gone through the roof since (the Euros) and grass-roots is benefiting from that.”
Since reaching the quarter-finals at the 2007 World Cup, Australia have aspired to greatness but flattered to deceive.
Barring talismanic striker-captain Sam Kerr, world class players have not been in abundance.
An over-reliance on Kerr has hurt the team, and as hard as Gustavsson has worked to build depth he will be praying she can avoid injury.
No player is anywhere near as clinical as Kerr in Australia’s forward positions and the Matildas, ranked 10th in the world, can struggle to unlock tight defences without her.
Australia’s own defence and box-to-box play has come a long way since their bleak period a year ago.
Even with key players out injured the midfield has shown itself capable against the world’s best and adaptable under pressure.
Most questions about Gustavsson’s starting 11 have been put to bed and the Swede has unearthed quality players to come off the bench including Charli Grant and Alex Chidiac.
Australia should canter into the knockout phase from Group B which also includes Canada, Ireland and Nigeria.
From there, they will hope to ride confidence, crowd energy and a bit of Kerr magic to go beyond the quarters for the first time.
-Reuters
Spain thrashed England 4-0 to move a step closer to automatic qualification for next year’s Women’s World Cup finals, with Germany booking their spot thanks to a comfortable 2-0 home win over Norway in the penultimate round of European qualifiers on Friday.
With the top teams from each of the four A groups qualifying automatically, Germany’s win gave them an unassailable four-point lead over Norway in Group A4 with one game left, while Spain and England are both locked on 12 points at the top of Group A3.
England’s hopes of securing a spot with a win in Mallorca were quickly snuffed out, with Patri Guijarro giving the Spaniards the lead in the 19th minute and Alexia Putellas making it 2-0 before the break.
There appeared to be nothing England could do to stop the Spanish juggernaut, with Putellas adding a second goal 10 minutes after the break and Claudio Pina putting the icing on the cake with a goal from a superb pass by Aitana Bonmati to make it 4-0.
England retain a chance of qualifying directly, but they will have to get a better result when they host Ukraine next Tuesday than Spain manage in their final fixture away to Iceland.
There was late drama in Group A2 as Ireland’s Amber Barrett netted a 90th-minute goal to snatch a 3-2 home win over the Netherlands to move above the Dutch and into second place in the group, one point behind leaders France, who beat Poland 2-0.
The Irish play France in their final game in Grenoble, with the Dutch taking on Poland at home.
Earlier, Pernille Harder came off the bench and scored the winner for Denmark as they downed neighbours Sweden 2-1 to end the Swedes’ hopes of qualifying directly.
The Danes top Group A1 on 11 points ahead of their final game against bottom side Serbia, while second-placed Italy, who are three points behind the leaders, next host Sweden.
-Reuters
By Kunle Solaja.
Nigeria’s Falconets have been handed a challenging but promising draw for the FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup in Poland after they were placed in Group F alongside former champions Spain, China PR and debutants New Caledonia.
The draw for the 12th edition of the FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup was conducted in Lodz on Thursday, setting the stage for the tournament scheduled to run from 5 to 27 September across four Polish cities.
Nigeria, one of Africa’s most successful teams at the competition, will face a stern opening-round test against European powerhouse Spain, which won the title in Costa Rica in 2022. China PR also brings a considerable pedigree to the group, while New Caledonia will be making their maiden appearance at the global finals.
The Falconets will be hoping to improve on their performance at the last edition and rekindle memories of their best outings, when they reached the final in 2010 and 2014.
Hosts Poland headline Group A alongside Argentina, Benin and Mexico, while defending champions Korea DPR begin their title defence in Group E against Colombia, Costa Rica and Portugal.
Other intriguing group-stage fixtures include Brazil, England, Canada and Tanzania in Group B, while France, Korea Republic, Ghana and Ecuador make up Group C. Group D features former champions Japan and USA alongside New Zealand and Italy.
The full draw is as follows:
- Group A: Poland, Mexico, Argentina, Benin
- Group B: Brazil, England, Canada, Tanzania
- Group C: France, Korea Republic, Ghana, Ecuador
- Group D: Japan, USA, New Zealand, Italy
- Group E: Korea DPR, Colombia, Costa Rica, Portugal
- Group F: Spain, Nigeria, China PR, New Caledonia
The tournament will mark Poland’s first major global women’s football event, with matches to be played in Bielsko-Biała, Katowice, Lodz and Sosnowiec.
Six nations — Benin, Ecuador, New Caledonia, Poland, Portugal and Tanzania — will make their debut appearances, while Korea DPR and the USA are both chasing a record fourth title.
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Nigeria’s Falconets will discover their opponents for the 2026 FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup when the official draw is conducted in Łódź, Poland, on May 15, as preparations intensify for another campaign on the global stage.
The draw ceremony, confirmed by football’s world governing body, FIFA, will take place in one of the tournament’s host cities and will be broadcast live worldwide on FIFA+, YouTube and TikTok.
Nigeria, one of the most successful nations in the history of the competition, heads into the draw with renewed ambition after securing qualification for the tournament, which will run from September 5 to 27 across the Polish cities of Bielsko-Biała, Katowice, Łódź and Sosnowiec.
The Falconets remain one of Africa’s strongest representatives at the FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup, having reached the final twice in the competition’s history. The Nigerian side will now await the outcome of the draw to know their group-stage opponents among the 24 qualified teams expected to battle for the title.
Former Polish international and current women’s national team coach Nina Patalon and French football legend Laura Georges will participate in the ceremony, underscoring the growing profile of women’s football globally.
Speaking ahead of the event, Patalon described the draw as a defining moment for both participating teams and supporters.
“The draw always brings a special sense of excitement, as it is the moment when the competition truly starts to feel real for both the teams and the fans,” she said.
She also highlighted the importance of hosting the tournament in Poland, noting that it could inspire more young girls to embrace football and further accelerate the development of the women’s game in the country.
The 12th edition of the FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup is expected to showcase some of the brightest emerging talents in women’s football, with Nigeria’s Falconets aiming to make another strong impression on the world stage
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