Poland 2026: Falconets know World Cup foes Friday

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Nigeria’s U-20 women’s football team, the Falconets, will find out their path to glory at this year’s FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup in Poland when the draw holds on Friday in the European country, PUNCH Sports Extra reports.

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Led by coach Moses Aduku, the Falconets qualified for the tournament last weekend after a 3-2 aggregate win over Malawi women’s national under-20 football team. They won the first leg 2-0 in Ikenne before losing the return leg 2-1 in Lilongwe.

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According to the Nigeria Football Federation, Aduku and team administrator Kelechi Omeke will attend the draw at the EC1 Cultural Centre in the city of Łódź.

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Nigeria, Benin women’s national under-20 football team, Ghana women’s national under-20 football team and Tanzania women’s national under-20 football team emerged at the weekend as Africa’s four representatives at the 24-team tournament, set to hold from September 5 to 27 in the Polish cities of Łódź, Katowice, Sosnowiec and Bielsko-Biała.

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The qualified teams will be drawn into six groups of four teams each as the FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup continues to captivate a global audience.

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Poland 2026 promises even greater excitement with as many as six debutants — hosts Poland, Portugal, New Caledonia, Ecuador, Tanzania and Benin Republic — while Germany , who edged Nigeria in the finals of the 2010 and 2014 tournaments, will miss the competition for the first time ever.

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Europe will be represented by hosts Poland, France, Italy, England, Portugal and Spain, while China, South Korea, Japan and North Korea will represent Asia.

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North and Central America will have Mexico, United States and Costa Rica , while Brazil, Ecuador, Argentina and Colombia will fly South America’s flag. New Zealand and New Caledonia will represent Oceania.

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The Falconets, ever-present at the competition, have been drawn in Pot 2 alongside the USA, Canada, Colombia, Mexico and New Zealand, while Ghana, making their eighth appearance, will be in Pot 3 with South Korea, England, Argentina, China and Italy.

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Pot 1 contains hosts Poland, Japan, Spain, North Korea, Brazil and France, while Portugal, Ecuador, Costa Rica, Benin Republic, Tanzania and New Caledonia make up Pot 4.

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