England vs Nigeria - FIFA Women's World Cup Round of 16 Match Preview

• Nigeria's Super Falcons will target a first quarterfinal appearance in 24 years at the FIFA Women's World Cup when they face England on Monday morning.
• The former African champions finished runners-up in Group B to set up the exciting clash against Group D winners, England.

It will be Nigeria's third appearance in the knockout stage and England's fifth.

For the first time in history, the Super Falcons went undefeated during the group stage at the Mundial, winning one and drawing the other two games.

The 11-time African champions held Olympic champions Canada to a goalless draw before claiming a hugely-impressive 3-2 victory over co-hosts Australia.

Nigeria could have finished top of their group, but they were held to another goalless draw by the Republic of Ireland on matchday three.

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Now, the West African queens will lock horns with European champions, England, who hold a hundred per cent record, having won all three group matches.

The Lionesses stumbled to two nervy 1-0 wins over Haiti and Denmark, respectively, before an emphatic 6-1 win over China.

This is the second time in World Cup history that England will meet Nigeria, with the first meeting between these two sides happening in 1995 as England won 3-2 that day.

But the Super Falcons have won the other two meetings since that time, both on English soil. Florence Omagbemi's strike gave Nigeria a slim 1-0 win at Carrow Road in 2002, while the team clinched a thrilling 3-0 win at the Madejski Stadium two years later.

A repeat of any of those two performances will see the Falcons book a place in the last eight of this tournament.

Nigeria have been solid in defence and boast attacking talents - in Barcelona star Asisat Oshoala and Atletico Madrid forward Rasheedat Ajibade - who can cause England a lot of concerns.

Equally, the Falcons must be wary of the threat posed by England's Lauren James, who scored two goals and added three assists in their mauling of China.

While England will be big favourites, Nigeria are not to be underrated, and this encounter could be closer than the bookies suggest.

Match details

Competition: FIFA Women's World Cup
Stage: Round of 16
Match: Nigeria vs England
Venue: Brisbane Stadium, Brisbane
Date: Monday, August 7
Time: 8.30 am (Nigerian time)