FIFA U-17 WWC: Flamingos Beat Mexico 2-1, Set Up Quarterfinal Clash With Venezuela

Nigeria’s Flamingos have reached the quarterfinals of the 2026 FIFA U-17 women’s World Cup after defeating Mexico 2-1 in Thursday’s round of 16 tie.

Oluebube Umejiaku put the Flamingos ahead late in the first half while Mary Dunstan doubled the lead with less than 20 minutes left in the second half.

Emily Delgado pulled a goal back for Mexico deep in added time but the Flamingos held on to advance to the last eight.

The Flamingos will now take on Venezuela in the quarterfinal on Sunday, November 1st. Venezuela reached the quarterfinal after edging out Germany 1-0.

Citlalli Reyes made the first attempt on goal just four minutes into the game but failed to find the back of the net.

Three minutes later Reyes went close again but to broke the deadlock for her side.

In the 20th minute the Flamingos had their first chance on goal but Oluwakemi Adegbuyi could not convert her chance, while Umejiaku also could not find the back of the net on 26 minutes.

With five minutes left in the first half Umejiaku put the Flamimgos 1-0 ahead as she took advantage of a poor interception by a Mexican player, dribbled her marker inside the box and fired past the keeper.

The Flamingos edged the early part of the second half and almost went 2-0 up on 48 minutes up Queen Joseph’s attempt was cleared away.

On the hour mark a dangerous corner kick from a Flamingos player deflected off a Mexican player but the keeper was quick to stop the ball from going in.

Some minutes later Flamingos continued to create scoring chances and were almost rewarded but Tosin Rafiu’s long lob was stopped from going in by the Mexican keeper.

Then in the 71st minute, Dunstan made it 2-0 as she volleyed into the back of the net after the keeper failed to properly punch away a cross into the box.

The goal was reviewed for a possible foul on a Mexican keeper in the build up to the goal but it was finally given.

With two minutes left a Mexico player Mia Urbano tried a long range strike but Flamingos keeper Jane Ijirigho tipped it against the bar.

But in the 10th minute of added time Delgado scored for Mexico as she controlled a poor clearance from a corner kick and fired a left-foot shot into the net.

The goal by Mexico turned out to be a consolation goal as the Flamingos held on to advance into the quarterfinals.

Nigeria – Oluebube Umejiaku (40 min), Mary Dunstan (71 min)

Precious Oscar (Oluwakemi Adegbuyi, 66 min)

James Agberebi is a sports content creator and analyst with a passion for football and other sports. He writes sports news, match reports, and analysis to keep fans informed about the latest developments in the sporting world. James has covered international matches involving both Nigeria’s men’s and women’s national teams. His experience covering Nigerian football gives him a good understanding of the game and the teams he writes about. Through his work with Complete Sports, James shares sports updates, match coverage, and analysis with readers in Nigeria and around the world.

Omo is like this trophy is coming home o…

If North Korea, Mexico cannot stop us….

So many people doubted these girls including some forumites here…

But I am happy they proved everyone wrong…

Winning this trophy will be a good way to heal us Nigerians from all the heart breaks from our football..

@Monkey Post, stop counting your Chickens before they are hatched. There is still a long way to go for the Flamingos, and we still have Japan, North Korea, Spain and other very strong U-17 Women teams still lurking in the tournament.

So, whilst I congratulate the girls and their coach, Busari, for today’s victory over Mexico, it’s not yet uhuru and no need to be complacent and underrate Venezuela or any other team still left in the competition.

Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment.

Notify me of follow-up comments by email.

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.