THE Flamingos of Nigeria rounded off their preparations for the 2025 FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup with a 3-1 victory over Paraguay in Casablanca, Morocco last night.
The victory was the 12th in warm-up matches for the Flamingos, extending their scoring tally to an impressive 50 goals while conceding just six.
The Flamingos took the lead inside the opening two minutes as goalkeeper Elizabeth Boniface launched a long ball that found captain Shakirat Moshood, who cleverly laid it off for Mariam Yahaya.
The forward made no mistake, chipping the onrushing Paraguayan goalkeeper to give Nigeria an early advantage.
Paraguay drew level in the 15th minute after a defensive error from Christiana Sunday gifted them an equaliser against the run of play.
The South Americans grew in confidence, forcing Boniface into two fine saves as the Flamingos briefly lost their rhythm.
However, the Nigerians quickly regained control, and just before half-time, they regained the lead.
A defensive mix-up at the back allowed Yahaya to score her second goal in the 44th minute before completing a sensational first-half hat-trick a minute later, thanks to a delightful pass from Kaosarat Olanrewaju.
The Flamingos maintained their attacking momentum after the break, with Ayomide Abubakar and Shakirat Moshood both coming close to extending their advantage.
Substitute goalkeeper Sylvia Echefu made a crucial save in the 69th minute to preserve Nigeria’s two-goal cushion as Paraguay searched for a route back into the game.
In the final moments, another defensive lapse allowed Paraguay to pull one back, but it was too late to deny Nigeria a deserved 3–2 win.
With their Morocco training camp now concluded, the Flamingos will head to Rabat today to settle into their FIFA accommodation ahead of the 2025 FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup, which kicks off in Morocco on Friday.
Drawn in Group D, the Flamingos will open their campaign against Canada on Sunday, then face France three days later, before wrapping up the group stage against Samoa on October 25.