Falconets leave for Poland aiming to end Nigeria’s U20 World Cup wait

Nigeria’s U20 Women’s National Team, the Falconets, will leave for Poland on Monday night after completing their final preparations for the 2026 FIFA U20 Women’s World Cup.

The Falconets, who have twice finished as runners-up in the competition, depart Nigeria on 24 August with ambitions of winning the country’s first title at the tournament.

Nigeria secured qualification after overcoming Rwanda 5-0 on aggregate, Senegal 3-1 and Malawi 3-2 during a successful qualifying campaign.

The team then completed an intensive final training camp in Abuja, where preparations focused on physical fitness, tactical discipline, teamwork and mental readiness.

Head Coach Moses Aduku said he was confident the squad had been properly prepared for the demands of the competition. He believes the players are ready to compete at the highest level and will travel to Poland with a strong winning mentality and the ambition of challenging for the trophy.

Captain Joy Igbokwe said the players were determined to make Nigerians proud. She also appealed for continued support, prayers and belief from supporters, adding that the team wanted to bring smiles to the faces of Nigerians.

Nigeria have been drawn in Group F alongside Spain, China PR and New Caledonia. Their group-stage campaign begins against Spain on 7 September, followed by a meeting with China on 10 September and a final group game against New Caledonia on 13 September.

The squad will arrive in Poland on Tuesday, 25 August and initially stay at the Hotel Trzebnica in the city of Trzebnica. They will remain there until Thursday, 3 September, when they are scheduled to move into the FIFA hotel.

During their stay at the Hotel Trzebnica, the Falconets will continue to work on their tactical and technical readiness while acclimatising to their surroundings before the group matches begin.

Nigeria finished second at the 2010 and 2014 editions of the FIFA U20 Women’s World Cup. They will now attempt to go one step further in Poland and claim the trophy for the first time.

A total of 21 players have been selected to represent Nigeria at the tournament. The country is the only African nation to have appeared at every edition of the competition since it began as an U19 tournament in Canada 24 years ago.

The Falconets’ squad for the FIFA U20 Women’s World Cup Poland 2026 is:

Christiana Uzoma, Jane Ijirigho, Ramotalahi Kareem, Queen Joseph, Favour Nkwocha, Rebecca Adegbemile, Joy Igbokwe, Faridat Abdulwahab, Precious Oscar, Tumininu Adeshina, Bright Etim, Onyedikachi Ekezie, Victory Lucky, Mary Mamudu, Hannah Ibrahm, Tosin Rafiu, Janet Akekoromowei, Amber Ogbolu, Winner David, Chisom Nwachukwu and Jumai Adebayo.