Nigeria and the USA will rematch their quarterfinal matchup at India 2022 on Saturday, where Nigeria won via penalty shootout.
To keep a perfect record in the group stage of the ongoing 2024 FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup, Nigeria’s women’s under-17 national team, known as the Flamingos, defeated the host nation, Dominican Republic, early on Wednesday morning.
The Flamingos had to wait until the 89th minute before midfielder Shakirat Moshood gave them the lead. Moshood picked up the ball from 25 yards out and sent a strong left-footed shot at goal past the Dominican goalie.
Moshood’s fourth goal of the tournament was protected by the Nigerian girls, securing a quarterfinal matchup with the United States of America.
While Dominican Republic finished with just one point but lots of new fans and hope for the future, Nigeria ended the group phase with three straight victories to set up a second consecutive quarterfinal matchup with the USA.
Nigeria will play the United States on Saturday in a rematch of their quarterfinal matchup in India 2022, where Nigeria won via penalty shootout.”I am so happy, I am happy for myself, I am happy for the team, and I am happy for the whole Nigeria,” stated Bankole Olowookere, the coach of the Nigerian team, in his post-match interview. We were aware that we would need to control our strength and energy during this match; since these are young girls with a lot of games to play, we needed to move slowly.