Women’s U20 World Cup 2026: two forced changes in Nigeria’s squad

The Falconets have had to reshuffle their squad just days before the start of the 2026 Women’s U20 World Cup. Captain Joe Igbokwe and defender Faridat Abdulwahab were forced to pull out after failing to obtain visas to travel to Poland. To cover for those absences, Nigeria coach Moses Aduku has called up Vivian Kachi and Alaba Olabiyi. The two players have now joined Nigeria’s final tournament roster.

The Falconets arrived in Trzebnica on Tuesday, where they are continuing their preparations under their coach’s guidance. The technical staff now has a few days to make the final adjustments before Nigeria begins its campaign. As part of that build-up, Nigeria will play a friendly against hosts Poland on Friday. The match will be held at Brzeg municipal stadium and will serve as a final real test before the World Cup starts.

Despite the two last-minute changes, the Nigerians are determined to approach the tournament with ambition. The staff will, however, have to quickly integrate the new arrivals to preserve the group’s automatisms.