Flamingos Fall To New Zealand in High-Scoring Friendly, To Face Paraguay Ahead Of World Cup Opener

Flamingos Fall To New Zealand in High-Scoring Friendly, To Face Paraguay Ahead Of World Cup Opener 

By Niyi Busari 

Nigeria’s U-17 women’s national team, the Flamingos, suffered their first defeat in 11 matches after a dramatic 4–3 loss to New Zealand in an international friendly played in Casablanca on Thursday, BSNSports.com.ng reports.

The seven-goal thriller saw both sides display attacking flair in what was the penultimate warm-up fixture for the Flamingos ahead of the 2024 FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup in Morocco.

Queen Joseph opened the scoring for Nigeria in the 13th minute after latching onto a precise through ball to calmly finish past the New Zealand goalkeeper.

Although the Kiwis equalised midway through the first half, Shakirat Moshood restored Nigeria’s lead with a stunning long-range effort just before halftime.

However, New Zealand turned the tide in the second half, largely thanks to a clinical performance from Laura Bennett, who netted a hat-trick. Nigeria responded through Ayo, who brought the game level at 3–3 with a composed strike, but the decisive moment came in the 80th minute when Candy Sienna fired home to give New Zealand the victory.

Despite the loss, the Flamingos have enjoyed an impressive run in their World Cup build-up, scoring 47 goals and conceding just four across their last 12 matches.

The team will now face Paraguay in their final preparatory match before heading to Rabat for the FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup.

Nigeria has been drawn in Group D alongside France, Canada, and Samoa. The Flamingos will open their campaign against Canada on Sunday, October 19 at the Football Academy Mohammed VI Stadium at 8:00 p.m. They will then face France on Wednesday, October 22, before concluding the group stage against Samoa on Friday, October 24.