The 2026 FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup has moved into the knockout stage, but the battle for the Golden Boot is already providing another interesting race for Nigeria’s Falconets.
Argentina’s Annika Paz currently leads the scoring charts with five goals after the group stage, but Nigeria have three players among the tournament’s leading scorers following their remarkable 10-1 victory over New Caledonia.
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Rivers Angels’ Ramotalahi Kareem and Winner Onajite David have three goals each, while defender Rebecca Adegbemile has two, leaving Nigeria with a significant presence in the individual scoring race as the competition enters its decisive phase.
The Golden Boot standings remain tightly packed, meaning the knockout rounds could quickly change the picture.
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Paz leads, but the chasing pack is close
Paz has established a one-goal advantage at the top of the chart with five goals.
Behind the Argentine are Pau Comendador and Celia Segura of Spain, England’s Rachel Maltby, North Korea’s Choe Yon A and China PR’s Huang Jiaxin, all on four goals.
The next group includes Zuzanna Grzywinska of Poland, France’s Justine Rouquet, Kennedy Fuller and Alex Buck of the United States, Nigeria’s Winner Onajite David and Ramotalahi Kareem, Spain’s Marisa Garcia, Canada’s forward of Nigerian heritage Annabelle Chukwu and Benin’s Romaine Gandonou, all on three goals.
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Nigeria’s Adegbemile is among the next lineup of players with two goals. And with the leading players separated by only a few goals, the Golden Boot race is still very much open. A strong performance in one knockout match could alter the standings significantly.
Kareem and David announce themselves
Kareem and David forced their way into the conversation in emphatic fashion.
Nigeria had failed to score in their opening two Group F matches against Spain and China PR, but the goals finally arrived spectacularly against New Caledonia.
Kareem opened the scoring from the penalty spot in the 17th minute and added another eight minutes later. She completed her hat-trick in the 64th minute, taking her tally to three goals.
David, meanwhile, entered the game at half-time and produced one of the most impressive individual contributions of the group stage; scoring in the 60th minute and again in the 75th before completing her hat-trick in the fourth minute of added time.
Her three goals came during a remarkable second-half spell in which Nigeria scored six times, which resulted in a 10-1 victory that sent the Falconets through to the Round of 16 with four points.
Adegbemile gives Nigeria another scoring option
While Kareem and David understandably grabbed most of the attention, Adegbemile has also emerged as an important contributor, as the defender scored twice against New Caledonia, finding the net in the 19th and 74th minutes of the game.
Those goals took her tournament tally to two and gave Nigeria three players with at least two goals after the group stage.
Kareem and David have accounted for six of Nigeria’s 10 goals, while Adegbemile’s two strikes take the trio’s combined contribution to eight goals, meaning they have scored 80 per cent of the Falconets’ goals at the tournament so far.
New Benfica ladies forward, Seimeyeha Janet Akekoromowei, and Tosin Rafiu have the other two goals.
That distribution is significant considering Nigeria had been unable to find the net in their first two matches. Against New Caledonia, the Falconets not only solved their goalscoring problem but also demonstrated that their threat can come from different areas of the team.
Nigeria have history in the Golden Boot race
Nigeria’s interest in the Golden Boot also carries some history, as 6 times African women’s best player, Asisat Oshoala, won the Golden Boot at the 2014 FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup in Canada after scoring seven goals, while she also helped the Falconets reach the final.
Oshoala remains one of Nigeria’s most celebrated products from the competition, and the emergence of Kareem and David gives the Falconets another opportunity to produce a prominent goalscorer on the world stage.
For now, however, both players have three goals and remain two behind top scorer Paz.
England bring another Golden Boot threat
Nigeria’s next assignment adds another layer to the scoring race, as it will see the Falconets will face England in the Round of 16 on 17 September, with a place in the quarter-finals at stake.
England have their own Golden Boot contender in Rachel Maltby, who has four goals already.
Maltby has been one of the standout stories of the tournament, particularly as a defender. She scored from the penalty spot against Canada before producing a hat-trick in England’s 5-1 victory over Tanzania.
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The defender has emerged as a prolific scorer, an unusual Golden Boot contender from the defensive position, which makes the England-Nigeria meeting particularly interesting from both individual and team perspectives.
Kareem and David will be looking to add to their three-goal tallies, while Adegbemile could continue her scoring contribution from defence. Maltby, meanwhile, will enter the contest with four goals already to her name.
The bigger prize remains the priority
For Nigeria, while the Golden Boot is an attractive subplot, the bigger objective is still to remain in contention for the World Cup title.
The Falconets have already recovered from a difficult start against Spain and China by producing the tournament’s most emphatic performance of the group stage for their campaign.
Now they have to carry that attacking confidence into the knockout rounds.
Paz currently has the advantage with five goals, while a group of players are chasing closely behind her. Kareem and David are among them, while Adegbemile has also given Nigeria an unexpected scoring option.
The next few matches will determine whether any of the three can make a serious push for the Golden Boot.
For the Falconets, however, the equation is straightforward: beat England first, and the goals and the Golden Boot race can take care of themselves.
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