U-20 WWC (Q): Senegal coach Mbayang Thiam defiant after narrow first-leg loss to Nigeria

Senegal head coach Mbayang Thiam is confident that her side will turn around their 2026 FIFA U20 Women’s World Cup (U-20 WWC) third-round, first-leg qualifying defeat against the Falconets of Nigeria.

Kindness Chinaza Ifeanyi Goal for Nigeria Falconets against Senegal U20 – 2026 FIFA U20 Women’s World Cup Qualifiers pic.twitter.com/aQCeUy4XNg

— Dr. Victor Ademola (@AdemolaVictorTv) February 7, 2026

​The Lionesses fell 1-0 to Nigeria’s Falconets on Saturday at the MKO Abiola Stadium in Abeokuta. Substitute Kindness Ifeanyi netted the winning goal for Nigeria just six minutes after the break.

​Speaking to the press after the match, Thiam expressed optimism regarding a turnaround in the second leg.

“It’s a defeat, we are not disappointed, but the good thing is that we still have the second leg.

We are going to prepare well like we did for the the first leg. We will do our best to motivate the girls to go all out for it.

Qualifying for us is still possible, and everything will be decided in Dakar.”

Senegal will have the home advantage in the return leg, scheduled to take place in Dakar on Saturday, February 14th. They aim to spoil coach Moses Aduku’s side’s perfect record of appearing in every edition of the tournament.