Brazil coach Rilany Silva says technical errors and Nigeria’s physical strength contributed to her team’s 3–1 defeat to the Flamingos in the semi-final of the 2026 FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup in Morocco.
Silva said Brazil struggled to match Nigeria’s intensity, especially during transitions and counter-attacks.
The Flamingos’ victory sent them into the final for the first time in the competition’s history.
Speaking to FIFA after Wednesday’s match, Silva added that her players’ failure to complete simple passes also played a major role in the loss.
“Just like against Ghana, when you make technical mistakes against teams that are more physical than those we are used to facing, you will pay for that. Against Ghana, we made a lot of mistakes in simple passes, and that happened again today. We suffered because of it,” she said.
Rilany further explained that Nigeria's defensive and attacking organization made it difficult for Brazil to exploit spaces on the pitch.
“These are teams that defend and attack with two blocks and offer a lot of space inside the pitch. But we couldn't take advantage of that because of these errors. We suffered a lot from the transitions and counter-attacks,” she added.
Nigeria's physical intensity and attacking efficiency proved decisive, as the Flamingos dominated important spells of the encounter to book their place in Saturday's final against Japan.
Awawu Bashiru was the standout performer for Nigeria, scoring twice, while Queen Joseph also found the net to complete the 3-1 victory.
Brazil's Greise Kelly scored a late consolation goal.
The victory represents a historic achievement for the Flamingos, who had previously reached the semi-finals only once, finishing third at the 2022 edition in India.
Akeem Busari's side will now face Japan in the final as they seek to become the first Nigerian team to win the U-17 FIFA Women's World Cup.
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