Nigeria's Falconets defeat France 1-0 in heavy rain

Nigeria's under 20 women's football team known as the Falconets recorded a 1-0 victory against France in their opening game of the 2022 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup in Costa Rica.

The game was played at midnight on Friday, August 12 at the Estadio Nacional de Costa Rica, San José in Costa Rica.

The Falconets started the game against the European champions in heavy rain.

After 20 minutes of action, the match officials decided to delay the game sending both teams to the dressing room.

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The Falconets regrouped after an hour to complete the match. The team led by Head Coach Chris Danjuma defended well as they went to the halftime break with a 0-0 scoreline.

The Falconets would begin to venture forward in the second half creating several half chances on the counter attack.

It was a balanced encounter between the two sides but against the run of play late in second half France squeeze the ball into the net.

After consultation with the Video Assistant Referee (VAR), the goal was ruled out as the Falconets goalkeeper was brought down trying to punch away the corner kick.

A few minutes later, the Falconets on the break scored through forward Flourish Sabastine.

The young forward celebrated with her teammates dancing to Buga by Kizz Daniel blasted through the speakers at the Stadium.

The Falconets would hold on to their advantage to take a 1-0 victory and start the tournament with three points.

The Falconets return to action against South Korea on Sunday, August 14 at 9PM Nigerian time.