Nigeria Loses To Germany In FIFA U-20 Women’s WC Final

 

Nigeria’s Falconets lost to Germany in the FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup final which took place on Sunday 24th August 2014 in Montreal, Canada. The Germans scored in the eighth minute of extra time to beat Nigeria 1-0 and claim the under-20 Women’s World Cup at Montreal’s Olympic Stadium on Sunday.

Nigeria was the better team for much of the game, as the Falconets pinned the Germans in their own half for lengthy periods of time. Nigeria’s shots were dangerous and its crosses constantly threatened the German defence.

Midfielder Asisat Ochoala, who came into the game with a tournament-leading seven goals, was menacing throughout.

But it was Germany’s Lena Petermann who broke the deadlock in extra time, firing home from close range past goalkeeper Sandra Chiichii for her third goal of the competition.
Forward Pauline Bremer of Germany got the play going, stripping Nigeria’s Gladys Abasi of the ball on the edge of the 18-yard-box. Bremer walked in to the penalty area and squared the ball to Petermann, who scored Germany’s 17th goal of the tournament.

For the second time in four years, Germany were winners over Nigeria in the final of the under-20 tournament.

In 2010, with Meinert in charge, Germany’s Alexandra Popp scored early in the final to defeat Nigeria’s Falconets 2-0 in front of 24,633 in Bielefeld, Germany.

Germany’s win wasn’t without controversy. The Nigerians looked to have equalized the match and the title in the 85th minute of regular time when Oshoala, by far the game’s best player, beat German goalkeeper Meike Kaemper to the ball with a header.
 
With the ball trickling towards the goal line, an overzealous Loveth Ayila, Oshoala’s teammate, booted the ball in the back of the net for added emphasis. Ayila was in an offside position, however, and the goal was disallowed.

To make matters worse for Nigeria, video replay showed the ball had already crossed the line before Ayila got a foot on it.

Earlier in the day, France beat North Korea 3-2 in the third-place match. France’s centre half Aissatou Tounkara scored the winner in the 79th minute to lead the Bleuettes to their first podium finish at the U-20 Women’s World Cup.

Nigeria Asisat Oshoala won the Golden Boot for her outstanding performance during the tournament . 

As well as serving up two assists, the insatiable Oshoala scored seven times in all, reaching her peak in the semi-final against Korea DPR, when she became only the third player in the history of the competition to score four goals in a single game. 

Her tournament haul is the most ever by a Nigerian player, taking her past compatriots Desire Oparanozie, Ebere Orji and Cynthia Uwak, each of whom scored five FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup goals.

adidas Golden Boot: Asisat Oshoala (NGA)
adidas Silver Boot: Pauline Bremer (GER)
adidas Bronze Boot: Sara Dabritz (GER)