What Nigeria and South Africa coaches said after Flamingos humbled Bantwana in Pretoria

Head coach of the Nigeria national under17 women’s team, Bankole Olowookere, and his South African counterpart Ntombifuthi Khumalo have both agreed that there is still all to play for in the second leg of their World Cup qualifier, Footynaija.com reports.

Nigeria’s U17 women’s team, the Flamingos, took a significant step towards securing their place at the FIFA U17 Women’s World Cup with a commanding 3-1 victory over South Africa’s Bantwana in the first leg of their final qualifying round.

Goals from Shakirat Moshood and a brace from Harmony Chidi gave the Flamingos a strong advantage at the Lucas Moripe Stadium in Pretoria on Saturday.

While South Africa’s captain, Katleho Malebana, pulled one back from the penalty spot, the hosts now face a daunting challenge in the return leg in Nigeria.

FULL TIME! in Pretoria

South Africa 1-3 Nigeria

⚽️ Malebana 47’ (Pen)

⚽Shakirat Moshood 20’
⚽Chidi Harmony 41’ (Pen)
⚽Chidi Harmony 68′

Our Flamingos take a first leg advantage to the second leg next week#U17WWCQ #IWD2025 #SoarFlamingos #RSANGA @thenff pic.twitter.com/ECk1dO17DG

— NGSuper_Falcons (@NGSuper_Falcons) March 8, 2025

Flamingos in control, Bantwana facing uphill battle

Nigeria, who have never lost a home World Cup qualifier at this level, struck first in the 20th minute when Moshood found the net with a crisp shot. Chidi doubled the advantage just before half-time from the penalty spot, leaving the South Africans with a mountain to climb.

Bantwana responded shortly after the restart when Malebana calmly converted a penalty in the 47th minute.

However, Chidi struck again in the 68th minute to restore Nigeria’s two-goal cushion and put the Flamingos in control of the tie.

FULL TIME: South Africa U17 1 VS 3 Nigeria U17
⚽️ Shakirat Moshood 20’
⚽️ Chidi Harmony 40’ (Pen)
⚽️ Malebana 47’ (Pen)
⚽️ Chidi Harmony 68’ #RSANGA #2025FIFAU17WWCQ pic.twitter.com/4LgTe1NDrQ

— Dr. Victor Ademola (@AdemolaVictorTv) March 8, 2025

What the coaches said

Despite the defeat, South Africa head coach Ntombifuthi Khumalo remained optimistic about her team’s chances in the second leg.

He told safa: “Once our opponents put pressure on us, that’s where we fail to protect our posts. That’s the challenge we need to fix before we head into the second leg. The girls showed resilience, and we know what we need to work on.”

Captain Malebana echoed her coach’s determination. “The game wasn’t that bad, we just need to take advantage of our opportunities next time around. We believe in ourselves, and we’ll be ready for the second leg.”

Flamingos head coach Bankole Olowookere was pleased with his team’s display but expects South Africa to be stronger in the return fixture.

“We had a good result, but we need to improve on a few things for the next game, as I know South Africa is also going to improve.”

Second leg showdown in Nigeria

The decisive second leg will take place on 15 March 2025 at the Remo Stars Stadium in Ikenne-Remo.

South Africa must produce a near-perfect performance to overturn the deficit, while Nigeria will look to finish the job and book their place in the last qualifying round.