 |
| The Nigerian girls celebrate |
Nigeria’s Flamingos have made history, reaching the FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup final for the first time after a commanding 3-1 victory over Brazil in Morocco.
After a goalless first half, the Nigerian girls came alive after the break. Queen Joseph broke the deadlock in the 56th minute, finishing a pass from Oluwakemi Adegbuyi to give the Flamingos the lead.
Awawu Bashiru doubled Nigeria’s advantage in the 71st minute, with Joseph turning provider this time. Bashiru then struck again in the 80th minute, converting Oluebube Umejiaku’s pass to put Nigeria firmly in control at 3-0.
Brazil pulled one back in the 89th minute through Greise Kelly, assisted by Yasmin Queiroz, but it was merely a consolation as Nigeria held on for a famous win.
Road to the Final
The Flamingos’ campaign began with a 2-1 defeat to Poland, but they responded strongly with a 2-0 win over Puerto Rico, thanks to goals from Adegbuyi and Precious Oscar.
Their standout group-stage performance came against defending champions North Korea, whom they beat 3-1 through Adegbuyi, Umejiaku, and Kanyinsola Rodiat Yusuf. That result ended North Korea’s 18-match unbeaten run in regulation time at the tournament.
Nigeria finished second in Group B with six points, scoring six goals and conceding four.
In the knockout rounds, they defeated Mexico 2-1, with Umejiaku and Mary Dunstan on target, before edging Venezuela 1-0 in the quarter-finals through Azeezat Oduntan’s 89th-minute penalty.
A New Milestone
The victory surpasses Nigeria’s previous best finish at the competition - a third-place result in 2022, when they beat Germany on penalties in the bronze-medal match.
The Flamingos arrived in Morocco in excellent form, having won the WAFU B U-17 title with five wins from five matches, scoring 17 goals and conceding only once.
Nigeria will now face Japan in the final, after Japan defeated defending champions North Korea in the other semi-final. The Flamingos will aim, this Saturday, to complete their remarkable journey by lifting the trophy for the first time.
0 comments:
Post a Comment