Flamingos Suffer Another World Cup Defeat

Nigeria’s U17 women's national team, the Flamingos, lost 1-0 to France in their second group match of the 2025 FIFA U17 Women's World Cup in Rabat on Wednesday night.

The team, led by Bankole Olowookere, showed significant improvement following their initial 4-1 defeat to Canada. They held firm against the European side, whose starting lineup featured Manchester City's Nigeria-eligible striker, Rachael Adedini.

The Flamingos began brightly, displaying "better organization and pressing higher up the pitch." The defense and goalkeeper maintained resilience against French pressure, even testing the opposition keeper midway through the first half.

However, despite their effort, the Nigerian girls were "undone late in the game when Fathallah capitalized on a defensive lapse to slot home the winner," an 81st-minute strike by Maïssa Fathallah.

This result leaves Nigeria at the bottom of their group with zero points, putting their hopes of advancing in "serious jeopardy." Olowookere’s side now faces a must-win match against Samoa on Saturday, October 25, to potentially advance as one of the best third-placed teams.