Nigeria head coach Moses Aduku says England’s Young Lionesses underestimated the Falconets before suffering a 3-0 defeat at the 2026 FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup in Poland.
Nigeria produced a commanding display to reach the quarter-finals, with goals from Tosin Rafiu, Janet Akekoromowei and Mercy Mamudu keeping their hopes of winning the tournament alive.
Rafiu gave the Falconets the lead before Akekoromowei extended their advantage. Mamudu completed the scoring to seal a convincing victory over England.
Aduku said the result reflected England’s failure to appreciate the quality Nigeria possessed.
“The English team is a very good side, and I think they underrated us; they never believed that we could play up to this level,” he told FIFA.com.
The Nigeria coach added that he had warned his players after the group stage that the tournament would become more demanding in the knockout rounds.
“But I said after the group stage that the World Cup is just starting,” Aduku said.
Despite the scale of the win, Aduku urged his squad not to dwell on their performance against England. He said the players were allowed only a brief celebration before their attention turned to the next fixture.
“[After the game] I told the players, this game is gone. Let’s have a short celebration because we have the next game to play, so let’s focus on the next one.”
Nigeria, who have finished as runners-up twice at the U-20 Women’s World Cup, will play the winner of the Round of 16 tie between Poland and Colombia in Lodz on Sunday.
Victory in that match would take the Falconets into the semi-finals.