Flamingos Beat Puerto Rico to Keep World Cup Hopes Alive
Nigeria’s U-17 women’s team, the Flamingos, have kept their hopes alive at the ongoing FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup in Morocco after beating Puerto Rico 2-0 on Tuesday night in Rabat.
The Flamingos started the Group B match brightly, putting pressure on their opponents and creating chances in the early stages.
Their efforts paid off in the 25th minute when Oluwakemi Adegbuyi scored from Queen Joseph’s assist to give Nigeria the lead.
Nigeria continued to dominate possession but failed to add to their advantage before the break.
In the second half, Queen Joseph, Tosin Rafiu and Favour Nkwocha came close to scoring, while head coach Hakeem Busari introduced Awawu Bashiru and Oluebube Umejiaku in the 67th minute to strengthen the attack.
The Flamingos finally scored their second goal in the 90th minute when substitute Precious Oscar headed home a cross from Kemi Adegbuyi.
Nigeria defended their lead during six minutes of added time to secure a valuable 2-0 victory and their first three points of the tournament.
The result comes as a boost for the Flamingos ahead of their next Group B fixture against North Korea on Friday.
North Korea defeated Poland 6-1 in the other group match, setting up an important encounter with Nigeria as both teams look to strengthen their chances of reaching the knockout stage.
