Nigeria’s Flamingos suffered their second consecutive defeat at the FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup after France secured a late 1-0 victory in their Group D encounter in Morocco on Wednesday.
The match remained tightly contested until the 82nd minute when Maissa Fathallan capitalized on a mistake from Nigeria’s goalkeeper Elizabeth Boniface, slotting the ball past her to give the French the win.
The loss marked Nigeria’s first back-to-back opening defeats in the tournament, following Sunday’s 4-1 defeat to Canada. Despite showing more urgency and cohesion than in their opener, the Flamingos’ lack of finishing proved costly.
Coach Bankole Olowookere described the result as “painful” and “heartbreaking” but praised his team’s improved performance. “The game we played against France was much better than the one against Canada. If we had shown the same kind of fight in that first game, I don’t think we’d be in the situation we’re in now,” he said.
Nigeria can still qualify for the quarter-finals as one of the best third-placed teams if they secure a big win against Samoa on Saturday, while also hoping other Group D results go their way.
In other Group D action, Canada crushed Samoa 6-0 to top the group alongside France, both on six points, leaving Nigeria and Samoa without points after two matches, though Nigeria have conceded fewer goals.
