Anthony Nlebem.
Nigeria’s U-17 girls, the Flamingos defeated Chile 2-1 in the third match of Group B to book their place in the quarterfinals of the ongoing U17 Women’s World Cup finals in India.
Stand-in captain Blessing Emmanuel scored an early goal for Flamingos in the 4th following an assist from Ajakaye Opeyemi to give Nigeria the lead.
Bisola Mosaku’s strike off a free-kick by dead-ball artist Miracle Usani in the 82nd minute left was enough to see Nigeria through, despite a late penalty from Chile converted by Roverner Tali.
The win earned the Flamingoes a place in the quarter-finals on Friday, with either USA or Brazil as opponents.
As was the case against New Zealand on Friday, the Flamingos created many opportunities that were not converted, but Head Coach Bankole Olowookere assured the team will get even better as the tournament progresses.
“We missed a number of chances again, but I like the spirit of the team and we will get better as we go on in the competition. I am happy we made it into the last eight, and that we sustained our winning mentality despite the fact that we only needed a draw to sail through.”
Germany’s 3-1 win over New Zealand in the other match of Group B meant the Germans finished with the maximum nine points in the group phase, having scored a total of 11 goals and conceding only two.
Nigeria finished with six points, and a plus six goals advantage after scoring seven goals and conceding only two in Group B.