Poland 2026: Falconets drawn against Spain, China, New Caledonia

By Aderonke Ojo

Nigeria’s U-20 women’s national team, the Falconets, have been drawn in Group F alongside Spain, China and New Caledonia for the 2026 FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup taking place in Poland from Sept. 5 to Sept. 27

The official draw for the tournament scheduled to hold across the Polish cities of Łódź, Katowice, Sosnowiec and Bielsko-Biała was held on Friday at the EC1 Cultural Centre in Łódź, Poland.

The competition will feature 24 teams battling for honours in FIFA’s flagship women’s youth tournament.

Africa’s representatives at the tournament are Nigeria, Ghana, Tanzania and Benin Republic

The draw ceremony was attended by women’s football legends and dignitaries from the host nation, while fans across the world followed the event live on FIFA digital platforms.

According to FIFA, the qualified teams were divided into four pots based on rankings ahead of the draw.

Pot 1 comprised Poland, Japan, Spain, Korea DPR, Brazil and France, while Pot 2 included USA, Nigeria, Colombia, Mexico, Korea Republic and England.

Pot 3 featured Ghana, Canada, New Zealand, Argentina, China PR and Costa Rica, while Pot 4 contained Italy, Portugal, Ecuador, Benin Republic, Tanzania and New Caledonia.

The Falconets face a difficult task in Group F, with Spain considered one of the favourites owing to their strong youth development system and recent success in women’s football.

China are also expected to pose a major challenge with their disciplined style and international experience, while New Caledonia will be making their debut appearance at the tournament.

The Falconets are two-time runners-up in the history of the competition and will be hoping to improve on their Round of 16 finish at the 2024 edition.

Nigeria qualified for the Poland 2026 tournament after defeating Malawi 3-2 on aggregate in the African qualifiers.

The Falconets won the first leg 2-0 in Ikenne before losing 2-1 in the reverse fixture in Lilongwe, a result sufficient to secure qualification.

The 2026 edition will feature six debutants — Poland, Portugal, New Caledonia, Ecuador, Tanzania and Benin Republic.

Germany, runners-up to Nigeria in the 2010 and 2014 finals, will miss the competition for the first time in the tournament’s history.

The full draw is as follows:

Group A: Poland, Argentina, Mexico, Benin Republic.

Group B: Brazil, Tanzania, Canada, England.

Group C: France, Korea Republic, Ecuador, Ghana.

Group D: Japan, New Zealand, USA, Italy.

Group E: Korea DPR, Portugal, Costa Rica, Colombia.

Group F: Spain, Nigeria, New Caledonia, China PR.