‘Flamingos still contenders for FIFA U17 Women’s World Cup,’ says Nigeria’s coach, Olowookere

Nigeria’s U17 women’s coach, Bankole Olowookere, has declared that the Flamingos remain strong contenders for the FIFA U17 Women’s World Cup title following their emphatic 4-0 victory over Samoa in Rabat, Morocco.

‘Our start was disappointing and we tried to make up for that,’ Olowookere said after the match. ‘The girls are happy now, they still want to take part in the tournament, they don’t want to go home. So they just had to bring a good game to make sure that we could remain one of the contenders of this tournament.’

The Flamingos entered the match needing a high margin win to stay in the competition after suffering defeats to Canada (1-4) and France (0-1). They responded with urgency and precision.

Queen Joseph opened the scoring in the 13th minute, finishing off a well placed pass from captain Shakirat Moshood.

Moshood then converted a penalty in the 27th minute after a Samoan defender handled the ball in the box. Joseph added her second goal in the 36th minute, assisted by Nguemo Terlumun, who tormented the Samoan backline throughout the match.

Moshood had a chance to extend the lead early in the second half with another penalty, but Samoan goalkeeper Grace Ae guessed correctly and made the save.

Nigeria’s fourth goal came in the 67th minute when defender Azeezat Oduntan curled in a brilliant finish, sealing the Flamingos’ place in the Round of 16 as one of the best third-placed teams.

Reflecting on the performance and what lies ahead, Olowookere added: ‘It’s good that we have strong opposition, to prepare us for the next game. We have to work on those areas where they were able to penetrate from our team.’