Moses Aduku’s side delivered a disciplined display at Stadion Miejski in Bielsko-Biała, taking an early lead before adding two more goals after the break to eliminate the Young Lionesses.
• England: No goals
• Nigeria: Tosin Rafiu 8', Seimeyeha Janet Akekoromowei 47', Mary Mamudu 73'
Nigeria started brightly and were rewarded in the eighth minute when Tosin Rafiu opened the scoring. The forward finished Nigeria’s promising start to give the Falconets a valuable early advantage.
England attempted to respond and came close to an equaliser during the first half. However, Nigeria goalkeeper and captain Christiana Uzoma produced two crucial interventions, including a penalty save from Rachel Maltby, to preserve the Falconets’ lead going into half-time.
Nigeria returned from the interval with renewed attacking intent and doubled their advantage just two minutes into the second half.
Seimeyeha Janet Akekoromowei found the net in the 47th minute to put Nigeria firmly in control of the contest.
The Falconets continued to threaten as England struggled to find a route back into the match. Their persistence was rewarded again in the 73rd minute when Mary Mamudu scored Nigeria’s third goal, effectively sealing the victory.
The 3-0 victory sends Nigeria into the quarter-finals, where they will face the winner of the Round-of-16 meeting between Poland and Colombia. The quarter-final is scheduled for 20 September in Łódź.
Nigeria had entered the knockout stage after finishing second in Group F. The Falconets lost 2-0 to Spain in their opening match, drew 0-0 with China PR and then produced a record-breaking 10-1 victory over New Caledonia to secure their place in the last 16.
The victory over England takes Nigeria’s tournament tally to 13 goals in four matches, while the Falconets have now kept two clean sheets in the competition.
With another knockout victory secured, Nigeria now await the outcome of Poland versus Colombia to discover their quarter-final opponents.