Nigeria’s Flamingos slipped to their second straight defeat at the FIFA U17 Women’s World Cup after a narrow 1–0 loss to France on Wednesday night in Morocco, Soccernet.ng reports.
It is the first time in history that the Flamingos have opened the tournament with back-to-back losses.
After a bruising 4–1 defeat to Canada in their opening match, Bankole Olowookere’s girls came into the contest knowing only a win or draw would keep their knockout hopes alive.
They began with urgency, pressing high and battling hard in midfield, but once again lacked cutting edge in the final third.
France, buoyed by their 4–2 victory over debutants Samoa, struggled early to impose their rhythm as Nigeria pressed intelligently.
Despite flashes of promise from the young Flamingos, the first half ended goalless, a reflection of Nigeria’s spirited defending but wasteful attack.
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France punish late lapse as Nigeria set unwanted record
Determined not to repeat their second-half collapse against Canada, Nigeria kept things compact after the restart.
But with nine minutes to go, France found the breakthrough. Teen forward Maïssa Fathallah drifted unmarked into the Nigerian box and struck at goalkeeper Faith Boniface. The ball squirmed through her hands and rolled into the net, a cruel moment that sealed Nigeria’s fate.
Despite late pressure and a chance deep into stoppage time, the Flamingos could not rescue a point. The 1–0 defeat marked an unwanted record: the first time Nigeria’s U17 girls have lost their opening two matches in the tournament’s history.
With one group game left against Samoa, Olowookere’s side must now win convincingly and hope results elsewhere go their way to stand a chance of advancing as one of the best third-placed teams.
Elsewhere, Canada beat Samoa 6–0 to take control of Group C.
Nigwroa’s fellow African sides also endured a poor day: Colombia thrashed Ivory Coast 3–0, and Japan defeated Zambia 2–0.