Aduku: Falconets Failed to Take Chances Against China

Nigeria U-20 women’s coach Moses Aduku has admitted that the Falconets failed to take the chances they created in their goalless draw with China at the FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup.

The Falconets were held to a 0-0 draw by China at Arena Sosnowiec on Thursday, leaving Nigeria with just one point from their opening two Group F matches.

Aduku admitted that Nigeria came into the game looking for victory but could not make their opportunities count.

‘The honest truth is that we came to win, but I think China also showed some resilience in the game,’ Aduku said.

‘It was not a bad game for both sides, but the little chances we created, we could not take them again.’

The result came after Nigeria suffered a 2-0 defeat to Spain in their opening match, but Aduku believes his team showed significant improvement against China.

‘Honestly, I saw improvement in my team in the Spanish game, so we’re getting better,’ he said.

‘So, it’s not the result we actually wanted to win, but we did not play out.’

While Nigeria struggled to find the breakthrough, China created the clearer chances and twice hit the crossbar.

Li Chenyu struck the woodwork just 82 seconds into the game before Xue Sifan also hit the crossbar early in the second half.

China’s Jiaxin Huang was named the Visa Player of the Match.

The draw leaves China second in Group F on four points, behind leaders Spain, who have won both of their matches and scored 13 goals without conceding.

Nigeria are third with one point, while New Caledonia are bottom without a point.

China coach Wang Jun acknowledged the importance of the result, particularly with Spain already looking strong in the group.

‘The situation in our group is very obvious because Spain is a very top team, so the match between us and Nigeria is key for the positioning in the Round of 16,’ Wang said.

‘Even though we missed some chances in the game, ultimately I am very satisfied with the result.’

For Nigeria, the draw keeps alive their hopes of reaching the knockout stage, but their final group game against New Caledonia has now become crucial.

The Falconets must improve their finishing and turn their chances into goals if they are to maintain their record of reaching the knockout phase at every edition of the U-20 Women’s World Cup since the inaugural tournament in 2002.