Nigeria’s U-17 women’s national team, the Flamingos, have booked their place in the knockout stage of the 2026 FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup after delivering an impressive 3-1 victory over defending champions North Korea in their final Group B encounter.
The Nigerian youngsters produced a determined performance on Friday at the Mohammed VI Football Complex in Salé, Morocco, securing the crucial victory they needed to advance after suffering a defeat against Poland in their previous match.
The Flamingos entered the decisive fixture under pressure, having opened their campaign with a 2-0 victory over Puerto Rico before losing to Poland. With qualification at stake, the team responded with three goals and a disciplined defensive display to overcome the reigning champions.
Oluwakemi Adegbuyi gave Nigeria the breakthrough in the 15th minute, putting the Flamingos ahead and giving the team an early boost in a match that demanded composure and attacking efficiency.
Nigeria doubled their advantage in the 38th minute through Oluebube Umejiaku, who exploited North Korea’s high defensive line before finishing past the goalkeeper to give the West Africans a commanding 2-0 lead at half-time.
The Flamingos continued their impressive display after the restart, with Kanyisola Yusuf extending Nigeria’s advantage in the 56th minute to make it 3-0 and place the defending champions under enormous pressure.
North Korea managed to pull a goal back from the penalty spot in the 82nd minute, but Nigeria held firm during the closing stages to preserve their two-goal advantage and secure a memorable victory.
The result ensured Nigeria progressed to the knockout stage after finishing second in Group B. North Korea retained top spot, with the final group standings determined by the teams’ results and goals scored. Poland finished third despite being level on points with the leading teams.
The victory represents an important response from the Flamingos, who demonstrated attacking quality, resilience and composure against one of the tournament’s strongest sides.
For Nigeria, the result also provides renewed momentum heading into the knockout rounds, where the margin for error becomes significantly smaller and every match could determine the team’s continued participation in the competition.
The Flamingos will now turn their attention to the next stage as they seek to build on their performance and strengthen Nigeria’s hopes of progressing further in Morocco.
With three different goalscorers contributing to the victory, the Nigerian side has shown that its attacking threat can come from several players, an encouraging sign as the tournament enters its decisive phase.
