Falconets Step Up World Cup Preparations in Poland

Nigeria’s U20 women’s national team, the Falconets, have intensified preparations for the 2026 FIFA U20 Women’s World Cup after settling into their training camp in Trzebnica, Poland.

The two-time runners-up began training on Wednesday at the Stadion Miejski, Fair Play Arena, with Head Coach Moses Aduku and his technical crew putting the players through tactical, technical and physical sessions as they build towards the tournament.

The Falconets arrived in Poland on Tuesday and immediately resumed their training programme, focusing on tactical organisation, technical execution, physical conditioning and team cohesion.

As part of their final preparations, Nigeria will play two international friendly matches against Poland and South Korea.

The Falconets will face hosts Poland on Friday, August 28, at the Municipal Stadium in Brzeg, with kick-off scheduled for 12 noon local time.

They will then take on South Korea on September 1 at the Remes Resort & Spa Football Stadium, with the match scheduled to begin at 4pm local time.

The two fixtures will provide Aduku and his technical crew with opportunities to assess the team’s progress, test different tactical approaches and make final adjustments before the tournament.

The matches are also expected to help the players acclimatise to the conditions in Poland and gain valuable experience against different styles of play ahead of the global competition.

Meanwhile, captain Joy Igbokwe and defender Faridat Abdulwahab have been replaced in the squad after they were unable to secure visas. Vivian Kachi and Alaba Olabiyi have been brought in as their replacements.

Aduku has continued to demand maximum commitment from the players as the team fine-tunes its preparations for the tournament.

Nigeria have been drawn in Group F alongside Spain, China PR and New Caledonia.

The Falconets will open their campaign against Spain on September 7 before facing China PR on September 10 and New Caledonia on September 13.

Nigeria finished as runners-up at the 2010 and 2014 editions of the FIFA U20 Women’s World Cup and will be seeking to go one step further in Poland by winning the country’s first title in the competition.

With the tournament approaching, the Falconets are expected to intensify their training programme in Trzebnica as they seek to turn their preparations into a strong challenge for the world title.