U20 Women's World Cup: Nigeria win opener, Ghana lose to USA
- Published
Flourish Sabastine scored the winner for Nigeria against France and was named player of the match
Nigeria beat France 1-0 in their opening Group C match at the Fifa Under-20 Women's World Cup in Costa Rica on Thursday.
A goal from Flourish Sabastine after 85 minutes was enough to give the Falconets all three points over France - the latter's first ever group-stage defeat at the finals.
Severe weather conditions at the National Stadium in San Jose, including heavy rainfall and gusts of wind, halted the game for almost an hour in the 21th minute.
However, slick passing helped Nigeria to dominate and stun the Europeans late on.
The West Africans' next group match is against South Korea, who beat Canada 2-0 in their first game, on Sunday.
Africa's other representative Ghana lost their Group D opener 3-0 to the United States after having Jacqueline Owusu sent off in the 31st minute.
Record three-time champions USA scored twice in the first half, either side of Owusu's dismissal, and added a third six minutes after the restart.
The Black Princesses, who have never gone past the group stage of the tournament in five previous appearances, will face holders Japan on Sunday.
Nigeria are one of four countries - alongside USA, Germany and Brazil - to have participated in every Under-20 Women's World Cup since its inception 20 years ago.
The Falconets reached the final in 2010 and 2014, but lost to women's football superpower Germany on both occasions.