U-20 Women’s World Cup Race: Gov Makinde dolls dollar rewards on Falconets

By Amaechi Agbo

Oyo State Governor, Engineer Oluseyi Makinde on Saturday rewarded Nigeria’s U20 girls, Falconets with the sum of $15,000, after the two-time World Cup runners-up defeated their Rwandan counterparts 4-0 in a 2026 FIFA U20 Women’s World Cup qualifying match at the Lekan Salami Stadium, Ibadan.
Goals by Precious Oscar, Tumininu Adeshina, Janet Akekoromowei and Alaba Olabiyi steered the Falconets, to a 5-0 aggregate win, and a date with either Senegal or Algeria in the third round of the series in February next year.
Playing with purpose, passion and unceasing energy, the Falconets set off with zest and verve from the first blast of Gambian referee Ngum Fatou’s whistle, and were almost one goal to the good in the 3rd minute, but Janet Akekoromowei’s chip from close range missed target.
Nine minutes later, the goal finally came. Effervescent winger Tessy Ojiyovwi sped down the left wing and crossed for Precious Oscar to sidef-oot past goalkeeper Iramuzi Belise.
Belise saved from Akekoromowei three minutes later, but was hapless as she tipped defender Tumininu Adeshina’s corner kick into her net in the 20th minute for Nigeria’s second.
On the half-hour, the pacy Ojiyovwi came close again, and before the interval, Oscar and Akekoromowei had both come close to increasing Nigeria’s advantage.
In the second period, Esther Inyang saw her lift from Oscar’s dashing run rising a little too high in the 59th minute, but a minute later, Nigeria went 3-0 up when Akekoromowei sliced a perfect grounder past Belise.
Ojiyovwi thought she had scored a fourth for Nigeria in the 65th minute, but her effort was ruled offside. In the 90th minute, the fourth goal eventually came, as substitute Alaba Olabiyi, who scored the lone goal in Kigali on Sunday, diverted the ball into the net off a shot by Taiwo Afolabi.