FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup: Flamingos beat Puerto Rico to revive campaign

Nigeria’s Flamingos revived their campaign at the 2026 FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup with a 2-0 victory over Puerto Rico in their second Group B match in Morocco on Tuesday.

Oluwakemi Adegbuyi opened the scoring in the 25th minute before Precious Oscar struck in stoppage time to seal Nigeria’s first win of the tournament.

The result provided a timely response for coach Akeem Busari’s side, who began their campaign with a 2-1 defeat to Poland and needed a positive result to strengthen their hopes of reaching the knockout stage.

Nigeria started brightly, with Chidi Harmony coming close to breaking the deadlock in the 16th minute, only for her effort to crash against the crossbar.

The Flamingos eventually made their pressure count when Adegbuyi found the net in the 25th minute to give Nigeria a 1-0 lead.

Nigeria held their advantage until half-time, leaving Puerto Rico to find a response after conceding the opening goal.

The second half saw the Flamingos protect their lead before Oscar struck in the 90th minute plus three to confirm the victory and secure all three points.

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The win was particularly important for Nigeria after their opening defeat to Poland, in which Wiktoria Skrzypczak scored from the penalty spot in the 33rd minute before Natalia Skrok doubled the lead in the 65th minute. Oluebube Umejiaku pulled one back for Nigeria in the 79th minute, but the late response was not enough to avoid defeat.

Puerto Rico, meanwhile, suffered a second consecutive loss after opening their maiden FIFA World Cup appearance at any level with a 6-0 defeat to Korea DPR.

The victory gives Nigeria renewed momentum as they pursue qualification for the Round of 16.

North Korea defeated Poland 6-1 in the other Group B match. The big win over Poland gives the Flamingos an advantage ahead of Friday’s Group B clash with the Koreans.

Under the tournament format, the top two teams in each group advance automatically, alongside the four best third-placed teams across the six groups.