LIVE UPDATES
A late goal by Flourish Sabastine secured victory for Nigeria's Falconets against Korea Republic in the FIFA U20 Women's World Cup in Colombia early on Monday.
In a match with limited goal-scoring opportunities, it was the Nigerian team that capitalized on theirs deep into stoppage time at the Estadio Metropolitano de Techo, Bogota.
Forward Mary Lucky Mkpa could have scored a brace had she been more precise.
Despite the Falconets' early promise, it was the Asians who came closest to opening the scoring in the 15th minute, but Shukurat Oladipo managed to block a dangerous cross from the right.
Nigeria's goalkeeper, Shukurat Bakare, nearly gave away a goal in the 28th minute when she failed to control a pass, but the South Korean forward could only shoot it over the bar.
At the other end, Mkpa had a chance of her own but slammed the ball a little too high after a brilliant pass from Rofiat Imuran.
Nigeria were again lucky just before halftime when Korea’s Myeyung rocked the crossbar from a 22-yard free-kick.
At the interval, Sabastine and Amina Bello had their shots blocked in the opposition box, and substitute Chiamaka Okwuchukwu also came close from a good run on the right but could not capitalize on it.
However, when the game appeared to be heading for a stalemate, Sabastine sliced the ball from the right wing to strike the upright and find the back of the net for the winning goal.
Next up for Chris Danjuma's side is a clash on Wednesday evening against three-time champions, Germany, who beat Venezuela in the other Group D fixture.
