Today, October 20, the Nigerian “Flamingos” team will face Puerto Rico in the second match of Group B at the FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup held in Morocco. Coach Akeem Busari’s side lost 2-1 to Poland in Rabat on Saturday, so anything short of three points will leave them hoping for other results.
Arithmetic is sharp.
Where Group B is ahead of Nigeria and Puerto Rico
Poland and defending champions Korea DPRK both have three points. Korea DPRK defeated Puerto Rico 6:0. The Poles got ahead of the flamingos with Wiktoria Skrzypczak’s penalty kick in the 33rd minute and Natalia Skrok’s strike in the 65th minute. Nigeria’s answer came in the 79th minute. Too late.
That leaves the Flamingos and Puerto Rico with zero points, while Nigeria are third on goal difference.
The format offers some breathing room. The six group winners and six runners-up advance to the round of 16, along with the four best third-placed teams. A win today will bring Nigeria level on points with at least one of the leaders and it will keep them firmly in the race for the top third spot, even if Korea DPR are too strong on Friday. Lose and the door is close to closing.
What Busari needs to fix against the debutants
Puerto Rico is making its first appearance in the tournament. Opening night against their owners was brutal. Six goals were conceded. Still, Sports247 warned after the Poland game that the Flamingos need to fix the defensive mistakes that cost them in Rabat. The penalty came from defender Ohunene’s foul in the box on Sunday. According to Premium Times, the second goal came after a clearance that never went far enough.
Chances also went begging. Oluwakemi Adegbuyi challenged the goalkeeper of the Polish national team, Hanna Bukhta, in the 18th minute. Queen Joseph came close eight minutes later. Nothing came of it until Busari’s double change renewed the attack in the 68th minute.
Busari, the former Ibadan Shooting Stars coach, brought this group to Morocco on the back of a perfect WAFU B U-17 Girls Championship where Nigeria won all five games against Niger, Ghana, Burkina Faso, Ivory Coast and Togo. Former Flamingos coach Bankole Olowookere warned that such form would count for little.
“It’s a completely different ball game. It’s different from the African World Cup,” Olowookere told Sports247.
Saturday proved his point.
What it means for Nigeria
The Flamingos advanced to the bronze medal round in 2022. Anything less than the knockout rounds in Morocco will be read as a step backwards for the program that feeds the Super Falcons in the Glass House. Goal difference is also important as it could decide the third places in all six groups, so a hard-fought win against the debutants would be more valuable than a narrow one. Then comes DPR Korea on Friday, October 23rd. This is the most difficult task in the group. Flamingos will want their fate in their own hands until then.
For background, see our coverage of the Poland defeat and tournament preview.
This article was last revised and updated 25 seconds ago