Flamingos Fall 2-1 to Poland in U-17 Women’s World Cup Opener

Nigeria’s U-17 women’s national team, the Flamingos, began their campaign at the 2026 FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup with a 2-1 defeat to Poland on Saturday.

The Group B match was played at the Mohammed VI Football Complex in Morocco, with Poland scoring once in each half to secure all three points.

Poland took the lead in the 33rd minute when Wiktoria Skrzypczak converted a penalty after Ohunene Sunday was penalised for a foul inside the box. The decision was reviewed by VAR before the penalty was awarded.

Nigeria tried to respond before the break, but Poland held on to their lead at half-time.

The European side doubled their advantage in the 65th minute through Natalia Skrok, who finished off an assist from Blanka Zajac.

Flamingos head coach Akeem Busari made changes in an attempt to turn the game around, bringing on Awawu Bashiru and Oluebube Umejiaku in the 68th minute before introducing Kanyinsola Yusuf and Precious Oscar ten minutes later.

The substitutions paid off almost immediately as Yusuf set up Umejiaku to score Nigeria’s only goal in the 79th minute.

The Flamingos pushed for an equaliser in the closing stages but could not find another goal. A VAR review for a possible Nigerian penalty in the 86th minute also ended without a spot-kick being awarded.

Nigeria will now turn their attention to their next Group B match against Puerto Rico on October 20 before facing defending champions North Korea on October 23.

In the other Group B match, North Korea defeated Puerto Rico 6-0 to take an early lead in the group.

Elsewhere, hosts Morocco started their campaign with a 4-0 win over New Zealand, while Germany defeated Argentina 2-1 in Group A.