Nigeria’s Flamingos kicked off their 2026 WAFU B U-17 Girls’ Cup journey in style on Wednesday. They defeated Niger Republic 5-0 in Yamoussoukro, Côte d’Ivoire.
Captain Harmony Chidi started the scoring in the 16th minute. Awawu Bashiru soon added another goal in the 35th minute, giving Nigeria a strong lead.
After halftime, the Flamingos kept pushing for more goals. They had to be patient, waiting until late in the game to score again.
Ohunene Sunday made it 3-0 in the 83rd minute. Just a minute later, Mary Dunstan scored with a header to increase Nigeria's lead to four goals.
Ayomide Rotimi finished off the scoring in the fourth minute of added time. This secured a convincing 5-0 win for Akeem Busari’s team.
This impressive start gives the Flamingos a solid foundation in their WAFU B campaign. It also serves as a good test as they prepare for the FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup in Morocco.
After the big win over Niger, Coach Busari talked about his team’s performance. He also shared his thoughts on the tactics used by their opponents and what Nigeria needs to work on.
“Looking at the magnitude of the match we played, Niger, we ought to have played them when we are playing the qualifier, because they played Guinea, so from the beginning we could not play.
“But we knew they had a young side like we had, and it’s going to be an entertaining game because we are going to have youthful energy in terms of tactics.
“So we could see from the beginning that they are going on a low block. They did not come on the middle or high block.
“So what we need to do is to keep the possession, try to extend the play, having an opportunity of 1v1 in play, then the ability to convert.
“But, you know, youthful energy, we wasted a lot of chances in the first half.”
Even with the comfortable win, Busari thinks Niger’s game plan taught his players important lessons. The Flamingos have tougher matches ahead at the World Cup.
“They tried to slow the game down, curtail our attack. But we have learned from their act if we see a game like that too, because we are still going to play another bigger stage ahead of where we are playing now.
“But it was a good experience.
“They were not pushed over, and we still need to work on our team as well.”
The Flamingos coach also downplayed the scoreline, saying Niger is a young team with a lot of potential.
“Like I said earlier, Niger, they are not a bad side. They are young, like our team.
“They have high endurance. But the only thing we have ahead of them is the beauty of this opportunity, which is the passing drill.
“Also, aside from that, I saw that there’s not much difference between the two teams.
“The two teams had young players, full of energy, and they want to play. But it takes time to build a team like that.”
Busari believes women’s football in Africa is getting better. More young talents are coming through as competition improves.
“That’s what I talk about. African women’s football teams have now reached higher levels. We have more improvement from our players, and it’s helping us more.
“So I believe in the next three, four, five years, we’ll see a lot of young talent from Africa that will take over.”
Next up, the Flamingos will face their rivals Ghana in the Jollof derby. This match is set for Saturday, 19 September, as they aim for success in Côte d’Ivoire while keeping their eyes on the World Cup.
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