Flamingos begin U-17 World Cup campaign against Poland
By Tosin Omojola
Nigeria’s U-17 girls, the Flamingos, will begin their 2026 FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup campaign against Poland on Friday at Pitch 4 of the Mohammed VI Football Complex in Morocco.
The Flamingos will be hoping to surpass their performance at the previous edition, where they were eliminated in the Round of 16 after a 4-0 defeat to Italy.
Nigeria secured their place at the tournament after a challenging qualifying campaign, defeating Guinea and Benin Republic. The team also demonstrated their attacking prowess, scoring freely throughout the qualifiers.
Poland, meanwhile, return to the competition after missing the 2025 edition. Their last appearance was in 2024 in the Dominican Republic, where they reached the quarter-finals before losing to eventual champions Korea DPR.
Today’s encounter will be the first meeting between Nigeria and Poland at this level, with the Flamingos targeting a winning start to their campaign.
Nigeria are drawn in Group B alongside Poland, Puerto Rico and defending champions Korea DPR.
The 2022 bronze-medallists will be aiming to make a deeper run in the competition, with a positive result against Poland providing an important boost to their campaign.
