Nigeria’s U17 girls, the Flamingos, have secured their ticket to the 8th FIFA U17 Women’s World Cup finals, which will be held in the Dominican Republic later this year.
They achieved this by defeating their Liberian counterparts 2-0 at the MKO Abiola National Stadium in Abuja on Friday. The victory brought Nigeria’s aggregate tally to 6-1, with the exceptional poacher, Harmony Chidi setting a record of 13 goals in a qualifying series. Chidi had already scored 11 goals before kick-off and added two more during the match, bringing Nigeria’s total for the series to an impressive 25. The Central African Republic was defeated by a dozen goals, while Burkina Faso was beaten 7-1 on aggregate.
Chidi’s first goal came just four minutes in, as she sped past the Liberian defense and toe-poked the ball beyond goalkeeper Makula Konneh’s reach from a cross by Shakirat Moshood.
Though a goal fest was anticipated, it did not materialize. Peace Effiong had a close call in the 17th minute, and a minute later, Moshood hit the crossbar from 20 yards out. Moshood also missed from close range with 10 minutes remaining in the first half.
In the 56th minute, Moshood shot beyond the goalpost when confronted by Konneh, but Harmony Chidi secured her brace seven minutes later, lashing the ball beyond Konneh’s reach after Nigeria capitalized on a defensive error by the visitors.
The 8th FIFA U17 Women’s World Cup finals will be held in Santiago de los Caballeros and Santo Domingo in the Dominican Republic from October 16th to November 3rd.
