Nigeria’s U17 women’s team, the Flamingos, got off to the greatest of starts in their seventh outing at the FIFA U17 Women’s World Cup, Afrosport reports.
The Bankole Olowookere-led side thrashed New Zealand 4-1 in their tournament opener at the Estadio Cibao in the Dominican Republic on Wednesday night.
🏁FULL TIME! in Santiago 📍
New Zealand 🇳🇿1-4 Nigeria 🇳🇬
Hannah Saxon 60′ (4-1)
Shakirat Moshood 2′ (1-0)
Taiwo Adegoke 13′ (2-0)
Faridat Abdulwahab 28′ (3-0)
Taiwo Afolabi 55′ (4-0)🎦 Rewatch: https://t.co/GO2fGJF9Zw#SoarFlamingos| #U17WWCQ| #NZLNGA| @thenff pic.twitter.com/q4dt26khgf
— NGSuper_Falcons (@NGSuper_Falcons) October 16, 2024
The Flamingos showed their intent from the start, needing only two minutes to get on the scoresheet as Shakirat Moshood got on the end of a pass from Harmony Chidi to put Nigeria in front.
They soon doubled their lead in the 11th minute through Khadijat Adegoke, whose sublime strike slipped through the hands of goalkeeper Brooke Neary.
It continued to rain goals in New Zealand’s corner as Faridat Abdulwahab made it three for Nigeria in the 28th minute. The Flamingos No. 5 sent a right-footed shot from outside the box into the net following a corner from Moshood.
The New Zealanders were able to stop the bleeding for the rest of the first half but Nigeria struck again 10 minutes into the second, through the head of midfield maestro Taiwo Afolabi, who got the Flamingos fourth goal of the game and was named Player of the Match.
Hannah Saxon netted a consolation goal for the Young Football Ferns in the 60th minute as the youngster’s strike beat goalkeeper Christiana Uzoma and crawled into the bottom corner.
The Flamingos could have increased their tally but for failure to take their chances. However, the win sends them to the top of Group A with three points, same as debutants Ecuador, who defeated hosts Dominican Republic 2-0, and occupy the second spot due to a lesser goal difference.
Nigeria will battle Ecuador next on Saturday, October 19, at the same Estadio Cibao venue, knowing that a victory secures their passage into the knockout phase.
📑Here’s our sisters, Flamingos group stage schedule ⤵️
Let’s go, Flamingos 🇳🇬🥳💪#SoarFlamingos #U17WWC pic.twitter.com/1xT7L0yjXR
— NGSuper_Falcons (@NGSuper_Falcons) October 15, 2024
Meanwhile, in the other match played on Wednesday, holders Spain recorded a 3-1 win over the United States to kickstart their title defence.
