FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup: Falconets in Katowice, countenance opening match against Spain

Photo : The Falconets on arrival in Katowice on Thursday.

Nigeria’s U-20 Women’s National Team, the Falconets, departed their training base in Trzebnica on Thursday and arrived at the Novotel Katowice Centrum as preparations enter the final stretch ahead of the 2026 FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup kicking off in Poland on Saturday.

The team spent 10 days in Trzebnica, where Head Coach Moses Aduku and his technical crew intensified work on the squad’s tactical organisation, technical execution, physical conditioning and overall team cohesion.

The period also provided the players with valuable time to acclimatise to the Polish environment and build match sharpness ahead of the global tournament.

As part of their final build-up, the Falconets played two international friendly matches against quality opposition. They recorded an impressive 1-0 victory over hosts Poland last Friday with Mary Mamudu scoring the decisive goal in first-half.

The team followed that result with a 1-1 draw against Korea Republic on Tuesday in their final warm-up match, with Mamudu also the goalscorer.

The two matches provided the technical crew with an opportunity to assess the team against different types of opposition, while allowing the players to further adapt to the pace, intensity and conditions expected at the World Cup.

With the Trzebnica phase now completed, attention turns to Katowice, where the Falconets will establish themselves ahead of their opening Group F encounter against Spain on Monday.

Nigeria is drawn alongside Spain, China PR and New Caledonia in Group F. 

After the match against Spain on Monday, the Falconets will then confront China PR on 10th September and New Caledonia on 13th September.