Former Nigeria coach Ndem Egan has acknowledged that nobody believed his side could reach the final at the 2010 U20 Women's World Cup in Germany, while reflecting on the nation's achievements a decade ago.
The Pelican Stars handler guided the Falconets to the final of the global showpiece which saw Nigeria become the first African side to reach the final of a Fifa-staged women’s tournament.
The Africans started with a 1-1 draw with England, followed by a 2-1 win over Japan and a 1-1 draw with Mexico before a penalty shootout victory over the United States on penalties after a 1-1 draw.
They went on to claim a 1-0 semi-final win over Colombia, but bowed to Alexandra Popp's strike and Osinachi Ohale's own goal in the final.
“I was happy with our performance despite the fact that we lost to Germany in the final,” Egan told Cafonline.com. “Coming out second and becoming the first team from Africa to achieve that feat was a personal joy.
"I’m happier today because some of the girls that I took to that competition later played for the senior national team [the Super Falcons] and some are still very much around.
The Falconets almost miss the showpiece due to a government-imposed ban on football after the Super Eagles' dismal outing at the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, which was later withdrawn.
On why he was happy despite the title miss, he said: "One of the memories of our performance was that nobody believed in us while going to the U20 Women’s World Cup in Germany in 2010, however, the ban was lifted in time for us to go to Germany; and that is one thing I can never forget.
"We would not have played in Germany if the ban was not lifted by the Nigerian government and that period of uncertainty really affected our preparations for the tournament.”
The Falconets are yet to win the U20 Women's World Cup, but matched their 2010 final appearance feat four years later in Canada, where they again bowed to Germany.
.jpg?auto=webp&format=pjpg&width=640&quality=60)
.jpg?auto=webp&format=pjpg&width=640&quality=60)
