Chinwendu Ihe zuo grabbed the winner against the hosts as the Falconets picked a precious ticket to Papua New Guinea 2016
Nigeria’s U20 women team qualified for the Fifa U20 Women’s World Cup in Papua New Guinea after defeating hosts, South Africa 1-0 on Sunday, and winning 3-1 on aggregate.
Chiwendu Ihezuo’s solitary effort was all the Falconets needed to see off Basetsana in the second leg, final round at the Makhulong Stadium in Tembisa. Surprisingly, it was the Nigerians that had the brightest start against their hosts, coming close from a free kick in the seventh minute.
The Falconets kept dictating the pace in Tembisa, but the South Africans made a brave attempt on goal through Gabriela Salgado, however, her effort was thwarted by Nigeria’s goalkeeper Sandra Chiichii. In the 17th minute, the visitors snatched the precious lead through free scoring forward Ihezuo who silenced the home fans and raised her goal tally in the qualifying round to six.
The Basetsana rallied for a comeback, but struggled to contain lanky Ihezuo whose continued torment on the hosts’ defence but with her effort going over the bar. Nigeria retained their narrow lead to end the first half.
The Falconets have now qualified for the fifth time and will await the winner between Ghana and Ethiopia to emerge as Africa’s two representatives at the 2016 Fifa U20 Women’s World Cup in Papua New Guinea.
