2025 FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup: Flamingos edge Paraguay in five-goal thriller
Nigeria’s U-17 women’s national team, the Flamingos, rounded off their pre-World Cup preparations in style with a hard-fought 3–2 victory over Paraguay in Casablanca on Tuesday evening. The thrilling encounter capped their 12th warm-up game, bringing their total tally to 50 goals scored and only six conceded.
The Flamingos wasted no time announcing their intent, taking the lead inside the opening two minutes. Goalkeeper Elizabeth Boniface launched a pinpoint long ball that found captain Shakirat Moshood, who laid it off for Mariam Yahaya to chip the onrushing Paraguayan goalkeeper for Nigeria’s opener.
Eight minutes later, Shakirat came close to doubling the lead, but her effort sailed over the bar. Paraguay found a lifeline in the 15th minute after a defensive error by Christiana Sunday gifted them an equaliser against the run of play.
The South Americans grew in confidence and forced Boniface into two fine saves as the Flamingos briefly lost rhythm. However, the Nigerians regained control just before halftime when Yahaya capitalised on a defensive mix-up to score her second in the 44th minute.
A minute later, she completed a sensational first-half hat-trick following a clever assist from Kaosarat Olanrewaju, restoring Nigeria’s dominance going into the break.
The second half saw the Flamingos maintain their attacking tempo, with Ayomide Abubakar and Shakirat Moshood both coming close to extending the lead. Substitute goalkeeper Sylvia Echefu made a crucial 69th-minute save to preserve Nigeria’s cushion as Paraguay pressed forward.
In the dying moments, another defensive lapse allowed Paraguay to pull one back, but it was too late to deny the Flamingos a deserved 3–2 win.
With their Morocco training camp concluded, the team will depart for Rabat on Wednesday to settle into their FIFA accommodation ahead of the 2025 FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup, which kicks off on October 17. Drawn in Group D, Nigeria will face Canada on October 19, France on October 22, and Samoa on October 25.
