Flamingos beat Venezuela 1-0, reach U-17 WWC semi-finals
Nigeria's Flamingos edged Venezuela 1-0 in Sunday's quarter-final in Rabat, Morocco, booking their second-ever semi-final spot at the FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup. Azeezat Oduntan's late penalty settled a tense match where Nigeria dominated but hit the woodwork twice and weathered sustained Venezuelan pressure.
Head coach Akeem Busari praised his side's fighting spirit after the match: "We gave everything on the pitch tonight. We wanted to keep the ball and play our game, but we made some mistakes." The victory marks only the second time Nigeria has reached the last four of this tournament.
The Flamingos now face Brazil in Wednesday's semi-final, also in Rabat. Brazil eliminated the USA in their quarter-final and will be favourites, but Nigeria's defensive resilience and counter-attacking threat have proven effective throughout the competition.
For Nigerian football followers, this run represents the country's strongest U-17 women's performance since 2022. The semi-final kicks off Wednesday evening—will the Flamingos' fighting spirit be enough to overcome tournament heavyweights Brazil and reach a historic final?