Nigeria’s Flamingos kicked off their 2026 WAFU B U-17 Girls’ Cup journey with a 5-0 thrashing of Niger on Wednesday. They scored three goals in the last eight minutes to show their strength.
Captain Chidi Harmony opened the scoring in the 16th minute. Awawu Bashiru followed up by doubling Nigeria’s lead in the 35th minute.
The Flamingos went into half-time with a 2-0 lead. They kept control of the game after the break but had a goal disallowed for offside in the 42nd minute.
Nigeria later turned their strong play into a rout with a late burst of goals. Ohunene Sunday made it 3-0 in the 83rd minute. Mary Dunstan scored just a minute later.
Ayomide Rotimi finished the scoring in the fourth minute of stoppage time. This victory gives Nigeria a strong start in their WAFU B campaign and helps them prepare for the FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup in Morocco.
Head coach Akeem Busari sees the tournament as a way for players to assess themselves. He wants them to find areas to improve before the World Cup.
“So with this, it’s really shaping us better, so that by the time we finish this, we’ll be able to see our area of strong points, area of deficiency, before the major tournament, which is the World Cup in Morocco,” Busari said before the match.
Busari added that the Flamingos are also aiming for the WAFU B title, though the World Cup is the main goal.
Captain Chidi said the team is handling the competition well. She praised the coaching staff for keeping the atmosphere relaxed.
“I don’t think there’s any pressure because the coaches, the staff, everybody are trying their best not to put us under pressure,” she said.
Next, the Flamingos will look to build on their strong opening win as they continue in the regional tournament.
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