WOMEN'S FOOTBALL
Ahead of this morning’s clash with England, Ajibade tells FIFA: ‘A wa l’o kan’ – This is Nigeria’s time
Rasheedat Ajibade says Nigeria have a burning desire to write their name in history and tips a 2-1 win against England on Monday.
- Claims the Super Falcons will create history
- Predicts a 2-1 win for her nation
- Says this is ‘Nigeria’s time’
Rasheedat Ajibade isn’t listening to the outside noise; to those voices that suggest a star-studded England will brush Nigeria aside, that the ranking gap from the fourth-placed European champions to the Super Falcons down at 40 will be too much for her nation to overcome.
Instead, she’s bullish on Nigeria’s hopes and full of belief that they, not England, can dictate the way the match unfolds, as she tells FIFA.
“We’ve seen a lot of surprises in this World Cup, it’s not about the name, it’s not about the players, it’s not about all of those things.
“Honestly, I respect every player on the England team but we have a lot of quality on our team and a lot of talent that poses threats. I’m focussed on what we can do as a team and not what England want to do and at the end of the day it boils down to what we will do on the field.”
So deep does that confidence and belief run that the 23-year-old forward didn’t evade questions about how the match may unfold – as many players often do – and rather confidently asserted how she sees things finishing in Brisbane.
“Nigeria two, England one.”
Having been suspended for the Super Falcons opener against Canada, Ajibade returned and played a key role in both the 3-2 win over Australia and the scoreless draw with Republic of Ireland that secured Nigeria’s passage to the Round of 16.
Some players may have celebrated the achievement of progressing from the group stage for just the third time in their nation’s history but not so Ajibade who is insistent that the pen which will write their history has yet to be picked up.
“It’s my second time qualifying from the group so it’s not new and it’s all about doing something new this time.
“I have a feeling it’s our time and we will make history. We’ve qualified for the Round of 16 in the past so that’s not history.
“Now we have to do something new and historical and we want to write our names in history, we have individual goals and collective goals and want to make sure we do something different so that we can lay a standard for those that are coming behind.”
On the pitch, Ajibade is hard to miss with the shock of blue that runs through her hair and off it she’s just as clear in her assertion as to what drives the motivation behind her team’s success.
“We’re playing for passion, we’re playing for the young kids out there, playing for our friends and families.
“Any time I have the opportunity to be called to the national team it’s a privilege for me and an honour that I would never take for granted. Playing on the biggest stage of football is a dream come true for me because there are a lot of talented young Nigerian players that could be on the squad and amidst millions of football players, I was one of those that were called up.
“Everything I’ve been training for and working for, this is it. The sleepless nights, the hard work, the injuries, the mental part that I’ve been working on, this is what I’ve been doing it for.”
As for who may score the winning goal in that victory she’s foreseen, Ajibade is less clear but if her confidence and belief rubs off on the rest of the squad then England will clearly have a real battle on their hands on Monday afternoon.
“I don’t care who scores the goal! It’s not about individual goals for me, I might score a goal and we might not win so I just want to make it to the quarter-final….unless you say I can score the winning goal!”
-FIFA
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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