FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup: Flamingos target good start against New Zealand

Nigeria’s U-17 women’s national football team, Flamingos, will gun for the maximum points when they take on New Zealand on Wednesday night in the first match of this year’s FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup finals in the Dominican Republic.

Although the game between the host nation Dominican Republic and Ecuador (the other fixture in Group A) is billed as the opening match, Nigeria and New Zealand will kick off the tournament at the CFC Stadium in Santiago de los Caballeros from 4 pm local time (9 p.m. in Nigeria), while the host nation and Ecuador square up at 9 pm local time (2 a.m. Thursday in Nigeria).

Bronze medallists in the last edition of the competition in India, the Flamingos are aiming to go farther this time, with head coach Bankole Olowookere insisting he has the ammunition to overcome opponents on their way.

“I have confidence in the girls to deliver the goods at this competition. We have come well-prepared to do even better than we did in India. The Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) has done everything to prepare the team well, with a two-week final camping here in the Dominican Republic.

“We do not under-rate any of our opponents. However, we will take it one match at a time and produce our best in each game to go all the way.”

The Flamingos have attended six of the seven tournaments since its inception in New Zealand in 2008.

The Flamingos had a mixed history in the FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup. In 2008, they failed to progress beyond the group stage. However, in 2010, they secured maximum points in the group phase but were edged out 6-5 in extra time by South Korea in the quarterfinals.

At the 2012 edition in Azerbaijan, the Flamingos once again topped their group with seven points but were eliminated by France in the quarterfinals after a penalty shootout.

In 2014, the team continued their strong group-stage performances, again winning maximum points, but their quarterfinal hurdle proved too high as they were defeated 3-0 by Spain. The 2016 tournament in Jordan saw them failing to make it out of the group stage for the second time, and they did not qualify for the 2018 edition in Uruguay.

The Flamingos bounced back in the 2022 tournament in India, making their first-ever semifinal appearance. However, they were narrowly beaten 6-5 on penalties by Colombia after a goalless draw in regular and extra time.

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In the qualifying campaign for this year’s finals, the Flamingos scored 25 goals in six matches, with 13 of them scored by forward Harmony Chidi.

Next up for the Nigerians after their clash with New Zealand on Wednesday night will be Ecuador, also at the CFC Stadium in Santiago de los Caballeros on Saturday, 19 October, before their final group phase game against the host nation at the Felix Sanchez Stadium on Tuesday, 22 October.