Flamingos soar with 4-1 victory over New Zealand in World Cup opener
Nigeria’s U-17 women’s team, the Flamingos, made an emphatic start to their 2024 FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup campaign, dominating New Zealand with a 4-1 victory in their opening Group A match on Wednesday, Nigeriasoccernet.com writes.
Displaying attacking prowess and defensive strength, the young Nigerian side set the tone for a promising tournament run.
The Flamingos’ goals came from Shakirat Moshood, Khadijat Adegoke, Faridat Abdulwahab, and captain Taiwo Afolabi, who each found the back of the net to secure the impressive result.
New Zealand's lone goal was scored by Hannah Saxon. The match kicked off with early pressure from Nigeria, as Moshood opened the scoring just two minutes in, latching onto a pass before skillfully beating her marker in the box and firing a low left-footed shot into the bottom corner.
Khadijat Adegoke made it 2-0 in the 13th minute with a powerful long-range effort that the New Zealand goalkeeper could not hold onto, resulting in the ball crossing the line despite her attempt to save it. By the 25th minute, the Flamingos had extended their lead to 3-0 through Faridat Abdulwahab, who curled in a stunning shot from outside the box, leaving the New Zealand defense with no chance.
Team captain Taiwo Afolabi sealed the victory with a well-placed header from a precise cross, bringing the score to 4-0. Despite Nigeria’s commanding lead, New Zealand managed to pull one back, as Hannah Saxon capitalized on a corner kick, controlling the ball before striking it past the Flamingos’ keeper with a left-footed shot.
With this strong performance, Nigeria will look to build on their momentum when they face tournament debutants Ecuador in their next Group A fixture on Saturday, October 19.
In other Group A action, the Dominican Republic, who are hosting the tournament, lost 2-0 to face Ecuador.
Oluwayemi Omolagba
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