Nigeria’s Flamingos face North Korea at the Mohammed VI Football Academy in Sale on Friday afternoon, knowing that a win will put them in the last 16 of the FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup and a draw will leave them on the brink. The Group B final will kick off at 4:00pm Nigerian time.
Poland face Puerto Rico at the same time.
Koreans lead by 6 points. They beat Puerto Rico 6-0 and Poland 6-1, scoring twelve goals and conceding one. The 2025 winners are looking for a third consecutive title.
Nigeria is second on three points with plus one goal difference. Poland also have three, but the crushing of the Koreans reduced them to minus four. Puerto Rico has none.
Akeem Busari’s side got here the hard way. They lost 2-1 to Poland on the opening day, then beat Puerto Rico 2-0 on Tuesday through Oluwakemi Adegbuyi and substitute Precious Oscar.
What do flamingos need?
The format helps. Twenty-four teams are divided into six groups of four. The top two places in each advance to the round of 16 on October 28 and 29, along with the third best four sides.
The victory brings Nigeria to 6 points. This solves it.
A draw puts them up four. Unless Poland beat Puerto Rico, they will finish second, and even then they would be third with four points, out of reach for the third-placed team in Group E, as Kenya and Samoa are still meaningless. Simple enough.
Defeat is a place of self-concern. Nigeria would stay on three points and almost finish third with Puerto Rico on minus eight, but the ranking of the third-placed teams in the six groups is decided by points, then goal difference, then goals scored and then fair play. Argentina, Venezuela and Canada are in third place with three points. The size of any loss can be significant.
Busari’s message
The coach has no illusions about the opponent. “DPRK Korea is beating everybody,” Busari told FIFA, “which shows how strong they are.”
He also sees a growing team. “We weren’t exceptional today,” he said after Tuesday’s win. However, he felt that “as the tournament gets harder, we get better.” Oscar, whose late goal finally killed Puerto Rico, said the three points “will encourage me and my teammates to be stronger against North Korea.”
History is a little encouraging. Nigeria beat the Koreans 3-2 in the 2010 tournament, although North Korea won the 2016 meeting 3-0.
Our vision
The Flamingos don’t have to beat the champions, just avoid losing to them, and that changes the shape of the afternoon. Sitting deep for ninety minutes against a side that averages six goals a game is at its own risk. Busari’s players were calmer against Puerto Rico than they were against Poland. Sale will need that composure and the sharpness in front of goal that deserted them in the first half on Tuesday.
There will be a point. More would be the announcement of the 2022 bronze medalists.
Note the win over Puerto Rico and the first loss to Poland.
This article was last revised and updated 22 seconds ago