-Deborah Akinyosoye
Nigeria’s U-17 national women’s football team, the Flamingos, kicked off their 2024 FIFA U-17 World Cup campaign with an emphatic 4-1 win over New Zealand on Wednesday at the CFC Stadium in Santiago de los Caballeros in the Dominican Republic.
Shakirat Moshood opened the scoring with one of the tournament’s fastest goals, finding the net after just 80 seconds. Seven minutes later, Faridat Abdulwahab struck the crossbar from 23 yards.
In the 13th minute, defender Taiwo Adegoke doubled Nigeria’s lead with a shot from outside the box, which the New Zealand goalkeeper fumbled. There was a Video Assistant Referee (VAR) check to confirm the ball crossed the line.
Nigeria continued to dominate, with Moshood nearly adding another in the 17th minute, and Peace Effiong missed another chance from close range four minutes later. Abdulwahab finally made it 3-0 in the 28th minute, lifting the ball over the New Zealand goalkeeper.
Captain Taiwo Afolabi extended the lead to 4-0 in the second half, with a looping header from Adegoke’s cross. New Zealand’s Saxon scored a consolation goal on the hour mark, turning smartly and beating Nigeria’s goalkeeper, Christiana Uzoma, after a well-worked corner.
The top scorer in the qualifiers, Harmony Chidi, had another chance in the 75th minute. Nigeria finished the match in control and will aim for another win against debutants Ecuador on Saturday, which could secure their place in the knockout stage.
The head coach, Bankole Olowookere, told FIFA.com, “It’s a good first game for us. We are taking them as they come, so a good game for us, scoring four goals and only conceding one, so not bad for our first game.”
The match against Ecuador will also be at the CFC Stadium in Santiago de los Caballeros on Saturday, 19 October, before their final group phase game against the host nation at the Felix Sanchez Stadium on Tuesday, 22 October.