Flamingos defeat Venezuela to reach U-17 WWC semi-finals
The Flamingos of Nigeria have booked a place in the semi-finals of the ongoing FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup taking place in Morocco after defeating South American counterparts, Venezuela by 1-0 on Sunday.
The Nigerian team tutored by coach Akeem Busari emerged victorious in the quarterfinal game played at the Mohammed VI Football Complex-Pitch in Sale, Morocco via a penalty scored by team captain Azeezat Oduntan in the 89th minute.
The Flamingos dominated play for the majority of the match but struggled to breakdown the defence of the Venezuelan team which did well to contain the attack of the Nigerian U-17 women’s national team.
During the hard fought encounter, the Flamingos registered 19 shots on goal compared to Venezuela’s 6, while both teams split ball possession by 50% each in 90 minutes.
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The Venezuelan team had to rely on a defensive masterterclass led by goalkeeper and captain Valerie Rebanales to keep the Flamingos at bay until the dying minutes of the game when Oduntan scored the only goal of the keenly contested match to secure victory for her team.
The 1-0 victory over Venezuelan means Nigeria has now secured its fourth win at Morocco 2026, setting a new national record for the most games won by the country in a single edition of the tournament.
The Flamingos (which has now qualified for the last four for the second time in their history) will now square up against Brazil, another South American team in the semi-finals on Wednesday for a highly anticipated game with a World Cup final ticket at stake.
