Nigeria’s U-17 women’s national team, the Flamingos, have qualified for the final of the FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup for the first time in history after defeating Brazil 3-1 in their semi-final encounter in Morocco.
The Nigerian girls produced an impressive second-half performance, scoring three goals to overcome their South American opponents and book a historic place in the final.
Queen Joseph opened the scoring in the 56th minute, converting a pass from Oluwakemi Adegubyi to put Nigeria ahead.
The Flamingos doubled their lead in the 71st minute when Awawu Bashiru found the net following an assist from Joseph.
Bashiru completed her brace in the 80th minute, finishing off a pass from Oluebube Umejiaku to extend Nigeria’s advantage to 3-0.
Brazil managed a late consolation in the 89th minute through Greise Kelly, who was assisted by Yasmin Queiroz, but the goal was insufficient to prevent Nigeria from securing victory.
The first half ended goalless despite Nigeria creating several scoring opportunities.
With the victory, the Flamingos will face Japan in the final after the Asian side defeated defending champions North Korea in the other semi-final.
The achievement represents a significant improvement on Nigeria’s previous best performance at the tournament, a third-place finish in 2022, when the Flamingos defeated Germany on penalties to claim the bronze medal.
Nigeria’s journey to the final has been marked by an impressive recovery after opening their campaign with a 2-1 defeat to Poland.
They bounced back with a 2-0 victory over Puerto Rico, with Oluwakemi Adegubyi and Precious Oscar scoring, before recording a 3-1 win over defending champions North Korea.
The victory over North Korea was particularly remarkable as it ended the Asian side’s 18-match unbeaten run in regulation time at the competition. Adegubyi, Umejiaku and Kanyinsola Rodiat Yusuf scored for Nigeria.
The Flamingos finished second in Group B with six points, having scored six goals and conceded four in three matches.
In the Round of 16, Nigeria defeated Mexico 2-1, with Umejiaku and Mary Dunstan scoring in either half. Despite a late goal from Emily Delgado, the Nigerian side held on to secure qualification for the quarter-finals.
They subsequently edged Venezuela 1-0 in the last eight, courtesy of an 89th-minute penalty converted by Azeezat Oduntan, setting up their semi-final meeting with Brazil.
The team’s impressive run in Morocco followed an equally outstanding campaign at the WAFU B U-17 tournament, where the Flamingos won all five matches, scored 17 goals and conceded just once to emerge champions.
Their victory over Brazil has now taken them beyond their previous best at the global competition, with the Nigerian youngsters one match away from winning their first-ever FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup title.
(Channels Tv)
