The Nigerian Falconet has bowed out of the FIFA Under-20 Women’s World Cup after a loss to the Netherlands on Sunday.
The European side beat the Nigerian side 2-0 in the quarter-finals of the tournament to progress to the semi-finals.
The Falconets gave a good account of themselves, but they could not break the resilient defence of the Netherlands. They could not re-enact earlier round performances, which saw them winning all three group phase matches, in this their quarter-final match in Alajuela, Costa Rica.
The Dutch team shocked the Nigerians after a swift counter-attack in the 11th minute as Zera Hulswit sent a lobbing shot beyond Omini Oyono in goal to send the Europeans ahead.
In the 30th minute, Nigeria nearly got the leveller that their endeavour deserved when Deborah Abiodun seized the ball as the Dutch defence fell into confusion.
But her dipping shot from 25 metres rocked the crossbar and was then tipped away from the head of Chiamaka Okwuchukwu.
In the 33rd minute, Nigeria went two goals down. A miscommunication between Oluwatosin Demehin and Omowumi Oshobukola was pounced on by Ziva Henry, who bundled the ball past Oyono.
This defeat means elimination for the Nigerian team that had won all three group phase matches, scoring five goals and conceding only one.
The Netherlands will now meet Spain on Thursday in the first semi-final fixture, after the European side beat Mexico 1-0 in the first quarter-final match on Saturday.