1st August, 2010
Nigeriaâ€
Nigeria, the first African team to appear in the final of any FIFA Women World Cup or Olympic Games, fought a good fight in the epic final. But Germany were unstoppable with Alexandra Popp scoring an eight minute goal before an own goal by Osinachi Ohale in the dying minutes of the game sealed a deserved victory for the hosts.
The Nigerian girls, who were stunned by Germanyâ€
Germany were close to scoring a bonus goal few minutes into the half-time when goalkeeper Alaba Jonathan mistakenly kicked the ball straight to Sylvia Arnold.
But, Arnoldâ€
Orji was close to scoring deep in the second half when she grabbed the ball on the far right. She had enough space to dribble her way out of the tight angle but prefered to play a powerful shot which German keeper, Almuth Schult parried over the bar.
Another narrow chance came for Nigeria when Helen Ukaonu was crowded by the Germans in their vital area. The ball luckily found Oparanozie, who was just few metres away but she also shot wide.
While the Falconets remained resolute, winning some vital midfield opportunities, a more determined and tactically better German team pushed them to their area to create some chances.
Kim Kulig, who was desprately out to score in the tie got a compensation for her effort when her header bounced off Nigeriaâ€
Germany became the first host country to lift the FIFA U-20 Womenâ€
It was Germanyâ€
By Tunde Oyedele