Nigeria Qualify for 2026 FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup Finals
Nigeria’s U-17 women’s team, the Flamingos, have qualified for the 2026 FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup after defeating Benin Republic 5-3 in the second leg of their final qualifying round on Saturday in Lomé, Togo.
The victory gave Nigeria an 8-5 aggregate win after the Flamingos claimed a narrow 3-2 first-leg advantage in Ikenne, Ogun State, last weekend.
Coached by Akeem Busari, the Flamingos produced another impressive display to secure their place at the tournament in Morocco.
Nigeria made a bright start, with Mary Dustan opening the scoring in the sixth minute. Benin Republic responded three minutes later to make it 1-1, but the Flamingos quickly regained control.
Esther Stephen restored Nigeria’s lead in the 15th minute before Queen Joseph added a third goal five minutes later to put the Flamingos 3-1 ahead inside the opening 20 minutes.
Benin Republic fought back and kept the contest alive, but Nigeria remained composed. Queen Joseph scored her second goal of the match in the 76th minute to help seal a 5-3 victory on the day.
The result confirmed Nigeria’s place at the 2026 FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup, where the Flamingos will once again compete against the world’s best teams as they look to continue their impressive rise on the international stage.
