Late Colombia winner knocks Falconets out of U-20 WWC
Colombia led by captain Joana Ortegon scored a late winner on Sunday to knock the Falconets of Nigeria out of the ongoing 2026 FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup taking place in Poland.
The quarter-final game between the two teams which was destined for extra-time suddenly swinged in favour of the Colombians when Valerin Loboa scored a late minute goal to secure a semi-final place for her team.
The Falconets controlled much of the first half of the game and created several scoring opportunities with Janet Akekoromowei coming closest to scoring in the 19th minute, but her shot struck the crossbar.
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However, Nigeria’s momentum in the game played at the Stadion Miejski ŁKS in Łódź, was deflated when Falconets player Kafayat Mafisere was given a straight red card for a high challenge in the 77th minute.
The decisive breakthrough came for Colombia in the 92nd minute (second minute of added time) when Leboa whipped a through pass towards the Falconets goal which was stopped by the goalkeeper but luckily the ball bounced off her before she slotted into an empty net.
The defeat ends Nigeria’s impressive run in the tournament, which included a dominant 10-1 win over New Caledonia in the group stage and 3-0 round-of-16 victory against England.
