Nigeria’s Falconets kept their hopes of reaching the knockout stage of the 2026 FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup alive after playing out a goalless draw with China PR, with head coach Moses Aduku admitting that his side still have work to do in front of goal.
The Falconets entered the encounter looking to respond strongly after their disappointing 2-0 defeat to Spain in their opening Group F fixture, and Aduku was encouraged by the improvement in his team’s performance despite their inability to find the breakthrough.
“The honest truth is that we came to win, but I think China also showed some resilience in the game. It was not a bad game for both sides, but the little chances we created, we could not take them again,” Aduku said.
“But honestly, I saw improvement in my team in the Spanish game, so we’re getting better. So, it’s not the result we actually wanted to win, but we did not play out.”
While Nigeria showed greater attacking intent than they did against Spain, China also had their moments and will feel they missed an opportunity to secure another victory following their emphatic 5-0 demolition of New Caledonia in their opening game.
