Germany secured a comfortable 3-1 victory over Nigeria on Wednesday night in Bogotá during the U-20 Women’s World Cup.
Nigeria entered the match with optimism after Flourish Sabastine’s late goal against North Korea had earned them a win in their previous game.
However, Germany’s Alara Sehitler struck early, scoring in the 17th minute and putting the Germans ahead.
Despite Nigeria’s efforts, they struggled to gain momentum and went into halftime trailing the 2014 champions.
The Nigerian side increased their pressure after the break and were rewarded when Chiamaka Okwuchukwu equalized in the 50th minute.
Germany responded decisively as Sofie Zdebel finished off a well-executed team move shortly after the hour mark.
From then on, Germany dominated the game, although Nigeria missed several chances to get back into the match.
In stoppage time, substitute Sarah Ernst secured the win with a final goal, sealing a 3-1 victory for Germany and placing them at the top of Group D, while Nigeria remains in second place.
In other matches, Morocco fell 2-0 to the United States in Cali, leaving them at the bottom of Group C and facing elimination after consecutive losses.
African teams have struggled in the second round, with Nigeria and Morocco’s defeats adding to Cameroon’s 1-0 loss to Colombia. Ghana now carries the hope of reversing this trend when they face Japan later tonight in Bogotá.
