Nigeria’s U17 girls, the Flamingos, took a significant step towards qualifying for the FIFA U17 Women’s World Cup with a 3-1 victory over hosts South Africa’s Bantwana on Saturday.
The match, played at the Lucas ‘Masterpieces’ Moripe in Pretoria, saw the Flamingos dominate proceedings and put themselves in a strong position to advance to the final round of the qualification series.
Shakirat Moshood, who scored four goals at the FIFA U17 Women’s World Cup in the Dominican Republic last year, opened the scoring for Nigeria in the 20th minute.
Harmony Chidi, who scored 13 goals in the qualifying series for last year’s finals, doubled the lead from the penalty spot, sending Nigeria into the break with a 2-0 advantage.
Bantwana pulled a goal back through Malebana’s penalty two minutes after the break, but Chidi’s second goal of the match in the 68th minute sealed the win for Nigeria.
The two teams will meet again in the return leg at the Remo Stars’ Stadium in Ikenne-Remo next Saturday, with the winner advancing to the final round of the series.
The final round will feature the four winners of the ongoing qualifiers, who will join hosts Morocco at the FIFA U17 Women’s World Cup, scheduled to take place from October 17 to November 5.
Other fixtures in the qualification series include Uganda vs. Kenya, Botswana vs. Algeria, and Cameroon vs. Ethiopia, among others.
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