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Nigeria’s U-17 girls revived their FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup campaign with a convincing 2-0 victory over Puerto Rico, recording their first win of the tournament after suffering a 2-1 defeat to Poland in their opening match.
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Oluwakemi Adegbuyi opened the scoring in the 25th minute after Queen Joseph’s assist, before substitute Precious Oscar sealed all three points with a 90th-minute header from Kemi Adegbuyi’s cross.
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The heavy defeat suffered by Poland against North Korea has improved the Flamingos’ position in Group B, leaving Nigeria second with three points ahead of their decisive encounter against the defending champions on Friday.
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Nigeria must now prepare for a challenging showdown against four-time champions North Korea as they seek to advance to the next round and improve on their recent quarter-final exit at the 2024 edition and second-round elimination in 2025.
October 21, (THEWILL) – Nigeria’s U-17 Women National Team, the Flamingos, earned a 2-0 win over Puerto Rico at the FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup in Morocco on Tuesday to boost their chances of advancing to the next round.
The Flamingos lost their first match of the tournament in a 2-1 defeat to Poland, but they delivered a top performance to outclass Puerto Rico for their first win of the tournament.
Nigeria started the game with real intent, pressing high and creating early problems for the Puerto Rican defence.
It was a lively opening from both sides, but the Flamingos soon took control with their quick movement and direct play going forward.
The breakthrough came in the 25th minute when in-form striker Oluwakemi Adegbuyi finished brilliantly from Queen Joseph’s assist to put Nigeria 1-0 up.
That goal settled the Nigerian girls and gave them the confidence to dominate possession for most of the first half.
In the second half, the Flamingos continued to push for another goal. Queen Joseph, Tosin Rafiu and Favour Nkwocha all came close, while Puerto Rico also tried to find a way back into the game with a couple of changes.
Coach Hakeem Busari responded by introducing Awawu Bashiru and Oluebube Umejiaku in the 67th minute to add more energy and bite in attack.
The pressure finally paid off in the 90th minute when Nigeria got the second goal as substitute Precious Oscar nodded home a cross from Kemi Adegbuyi to seal the contest at 2-0.
The team showed great maturity to see out six minutes of added time and secure all three points.
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The victory is a big boost for the Flamingos as North Korea defeated Poland 6-1 in the other match of Group B.
The high-score deficit against the Poles is an advantage to the Flamingos ahead of Friday’s Group B encounter against the Koreans.
The Flamingos occupy the second position on the log with three points; North Korea have six points from two games to top the group.
North Korea are the defending champions of the tournament; they have also won the tournament four times.
Morocco was selected to host the 2025–2029 editions, becoming the first African country to stage the tournament.
Nigeria’s best-ever result at the U-17 Women’s World Cup was a bronze-medal finish at the 2022 edition in India.
At the 2024 edition, The Flamingos crashed out in the quarter-finals, and they faltered at the 2025 edition in Morocco, failing to advance beyond the second round.
