Flamingos Begin U-17 Women’s World Cup Campaign Against Poland on Saturday
Nigeria’s U-17 women’s national team, the Flamingos, will begin their campaign at the 2026 FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup against Poland on Saturday, October 17, in Morocco.
The Group B match will kick off at 6:00 p.m. Nigerian time at the Women’s Football Complex in Rabat.
The tournament will run from October 17 to November 7, with 24 countries competing for the title.
The Flamingos qualified for the competition after defeating Benin in the final round of African qualifiers. They also won the WAFU-B U-17 Girls’ Championship in September, giving the team more experience ahead of the World Cup.
Head coach Akeem Busari will rely on captain Harmony Chidi to lead Nigeria’s attack. Chidi scored five goals during the qualifying campaign and added three more at the WAFU-B U-17 Girls’ Championship.
Nigeria will be hoping to improve on their best performance at the tournament, when they finished third in 2022. The 2026 edition will be the country’s ninth appearance at the competition.
Poland, however, will be a tough opponent for the Nigerian youngsters. The European side secured qualification by defeating England 2-0 in a play-off at the UEFA Women’s U-17 Championship.
Midfielder Zofia Burzan scored both goals against England and will be one of the players Nigeria must watch closely. She also scored four goals at the European U-17 Championship.
Poland reached the quarter-finals during their debut at the 2024 edition and will be looking to achieve more in Morocco.
After Saturday’s opening match, the Flamingos will face Puerto Rico on October 20 before taking on Korea DPR on October 23 in their final group game.
Korea DPR, the defending champions and four-time winners of the competition, will pose another major challenge for Nigeria.
Under the tournament format, the top two teams in each group and the four best third-placed teams will qualify for the Round of 16.
The Flamingos will be aiming for a winning start against Poland as they seek to make a strong impression at the global tournament.
