{"id":890917,"date":"2026-02-08T03:14:18","date_gmt":"2026-02-08T09:14:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/2026\/02\/08\/nigeria-vs-senegal-falconets-ready-for-battle-ahead-of-poland-2026-qualifier\/"},"modified":"2026-02-08T03:14:18","modified_gmt":"2026-02-08T09:14:18","slug":"nigeria-vs-senegal-falconets-ready-for-battle-ahead-of-poland-2026-qualifier","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/2026\/02\/08\/nigeria-vs-senegal-falconets-ready-for-battle-ahead-of-poland-2026-qualifier\/","title":{"rendered":"Nigeria vs Senegal: Falconets ready for battle ahead of Poland 2026 qualifier"},"content":{"rendered":"

Soccer <\/p>\n

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\"Soccer<\/p>\n

Falconets. Photo Credit: NFF Comms<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Nigeria\u2019s U20 women\u2019s team, the Falconets<\/a>, will look to keep their dreams alive when they clash with Senegal in Saturday\u2019s first-leg, third round of qualifying for the 2026 FIFA U20 Women\u2019s World Cup, Soccernet.ng reports<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

The match will be played at the MKO Abiola Sports Complex in Abeokuta, where the Falconets hope to take control of the two-leg tie before travelling to Dakar for the return fixture next week. The overall winner will move one step closer to booking a place at the finals in Poland.<\/p>\n

\"Soccer
Falconets. Photo Credit: Oyo State, Youth and Sports X<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Nigeria<\/a> reached this stage after a dominant second-round performance against Rwanda, sweeping them aside 5-0 on aggregate<\/a>. Senegal also impressed, recording a commanding victory over Algeria to set up this West African showdown.<\/p>\n

Speaking ahead of the encounter, head coach Moses Aduku made it clear that his players have treated preparations with maximum seriousness.<\/p>\n

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\u201cThe players are fit, focused, and ready. We have worked very hard in camp, and we approach every match with the seriousness of a final to maintain the right mentality and match sharpness,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

\"Soccer
Falconets. Photo Credit: Oyo State, Youth and Sports X<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Team captain Joy Igbokwe backed up her coach\u2019s words, stressing that the squad understands the importance of the moment and is determined to deliver in front of home fans before heading to Senegal for the decisive second leg.<\/p>\n

Get Our Sports News First \u2013 Join Our WhatsApp Channel Now!<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

Soccer Nigeria’s Falconets face motivated Senegal<\/h2>\n

Coach Aduku also provided encouraging news on the squad\u2019s physical condition, revealing that two players who picked up minor knocks are easing back into training, while another has fully recovered from illness.<\/p>\n

\"Soccer
Nigeria\u2019s Falconets vs Rwanda. Photo Credit: Rwanda FA \/ X<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

With the first leg taking place on home soil, the Falconets\u2019 coach urged supporters to turn out in large numbers to push the team forward.<\/p>\n

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\u201cThe support of our fans will be very important to us, especially playing at home. It gives the players extra confidence and motivation.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Senegal arrive in Abeokuta chasing a historic first appearance at the U20 Women\u2019s World Cup, buoyed by their strong showing in the previous round. However, Nigeria\u2019s own emphatic win over Rwanda is a pointer to their experience and pedigree at this level.<\/p>\n

Saturday\u2019s contest will set the tone for the tie, with the return match scheduled for 14 February in Dakar.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

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\"<!--Imhonlamhen Eronmhonsele” src=”https:\/\/media.soccernet.ng\/main\/2024\/12\/DSC_0327-copy-150×150.jpg” height=”80″ width=”80″>\t\t<\/p>\n

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\n\t\t\t\t\tImhonlamhen Eronmhonsele\t\t\t\t<\/a>
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\n\t\t\t\tA lifelong fan of Arsenal and the Super Eagles, Imhonlamhen is a football writer and editor at Soccernet.ng, where his journey as a journalist began more than six years ago. Since then, he has helped shape the platform\u2019s editorial voice and guided it toward some of its proudest milestones. <\/p>\n

With a background in Engineering and further training in journalism and digital media, Imhons brings both precision and passion to his storytelling. His love for football runs deep, but he also follows boxing, chess, and athletics with equal curiosity.\t\t\t<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

Read More<\/a>Imhonlamhen Eronmhonsele<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Soccer Falconets. Photo Credit: NFF Comms Nigeria\u2019s U20 women\u2019s team, the Falconets, will look to keep their dreams alive when they clash with Senegal in Saturday\u2019s first-leg, third round of qualifying for the 2026 FIFA U20 Women\u2019s World Cup, Soccernet.ng reports. The match will be played at the MKO Abiola Sports Complex in Abeokuta, where […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":890918,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[27096,24780,2005],"tags":[15956,49842],"class_list":{"0":"post-890917","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-nigeria","8":"category-senegal","9":"category-soccer","10":"tag-nigeria","11":"tag-senegal"},"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/890917","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=890917"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/890917\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/890918"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=890917"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=890917"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=890917"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}