The Falconets, Nigeria’s U-20 women’s football team, have been drawn in Group F alongside Spain, China and New Caledonia for the 2026 FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup in Poland.
The draw was held at the EC1 Cultural Centre in Łódź, Poland. The tournament is scheduled to take place from September 5th to 27th, across the Polish cities of Łódź, Katowice, Sosnowiec and Bielsko-Biała.
The Falconets face a difficult task in Group F, with Spain considered one of the favourites owing to their strong youth development system and recent success in women’s football.
China are also expected to pose a major challenge with their disciplined style and international experience, while New Caledonia will be making their debut appearance at the tournament.
Nigeria qualified for the Poland 2026 tournament after defeating Malawi 3-2 on aggregate in the African qualifiers. The Falconets won the first leg 2-0 in Ikenne before losing 2-1 in the reverse fixture in Lilongwe, a result sufficient to secure qualification.
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The Falconets are two-time runners-up in the history of the competition and will be hoping to improve on their Round of 16 finish at the 2024 edition.
The competition will feature 24 teams battling for honours in FIFA’s flagship women’s youth tournament. Africa’s representatives at the tournament are Nigeria, Ghana, Tanzania and Benin Republic.
The full draw is as follows:
Group A: Poland, Argentina, Mexico, Benin Republic.
Group B: Brazil, Tanzania, Canada, England.
Group C: France, Korea Republic, Ecuador, Ghana.
Group D: Japan, New Zealand, USA, Italy.
Group E: Korea DPR, Portugal, Costa Rica, Colombia.
Group F: Spain, Nigeria, New Caledonia, China PR.
