Flamingos Suffer Second Straight Defeat At U-17 Women’s World Cup

Flamingos Suffer Second Straight Defeat at U-17 Women’s World Cup

By Niyi Busari 

Nigeria’s U-17 women’s national team, the Flamingos, fell to their second consecutive defeat at the 2025 FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup following a narrow 1-0 loss to France on Wednesday in Morocco, BSNSports.com.ng reports.

Having opened their campaign with a 4-1 loss to Canada, the Flamingos came into the clash against the French side hoping to turn their fortunes around and keep their hopes of progressing to the knockout stage alive.

In a tightly contested encounter, both sides created chances but failed to convert until the 81st minute, when Maïssa Fathallah broke the deadlock to hand France all three points.

The defeat leaves Nigeria rooted to the bottom of Group D with zero points from two matches and a -5 goal difference.

Despite the back-to-back losses, the Flamingos still have a mathematical chance of advancing to the Round of 16, as the four best third-placed teams from the group stage will also progress. However, Nigeria will need a convincing win over Samoa in their final group match likely by a margin of five goals or more to boost their chances of qualification.

Coach Bankole Olowookere and his team will now shift focus to the must-win clash against Samoa, where only a high-scoring victory could keep their World Cup hopes alive.