Nigeria’s Falconets drew 1-1 with China PR to qualify for the knockout stage of the 2018 FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup played at Stade du Clos Gastel in Dinan, France.
Falconets Captain Rashdeedat Ajibade scored in the 94th minutes to keep Nigeria hope alive in the tournament.
The Falconets had lost 0-1 to Germany and bounced back with a 1-0 victory over Haiti before playing 1-1 draw with China who desperately needed a victory to qualify for the knockout stage.
China beat Haiti 2-1 in their first game but went down 0-2 to Germany before crashing to Nigeria in their final group match.
Needing a victory to leapfrog the Nigerians to the runners-up spot in the group, China were the more dangerous side in the first half at the Stade du Clos Gastel. Mengyu Shen had the first chance of the match on 25 minutes when she hit the Nigeria crossbar. A few minutes later, captain Linlin Wang headed over the target from close range.
China’s breakthrough came four minutes before half-time, as the diminutive Linyan Zhang turned her Nigerian marker in the box and stroked the ball past a diving Chiamaka Nnadozie to give the Asians the lead at the break.
The Super Falconets pushed hard in search of an equaliser in the second half, but found the China backline and goalkeeper Huan Xu in resilient form until the end of the contest.
With seconds left to play, substitute Aishat Bello’s byline cross from the right saw captain Rashdeedat Ajibade challenge for the ball with China right-back Jiaxing Dou. Bello’s cross struck the Chinese defender before nestling in the back of the net and sparking emotional celebrations from the West Africans at the full-time whistle.
Anthony Nlebem
