Nigeria secured a spot in the quarterfinals of the ongoing 2022 FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup after the Flamingos beat Chile 2-1 in a final group-stage game on Monday.
Blessing Emmanuel’s goal in the 4th minute of the first half and Bisola Mosaku’s 82nd-minute free-kick were enough to see Nigeria through at the Kalinga Stadium in Bhubaneswar, India, despite a late penalty converted by Roverner Tali.
The Nigerians will play the winning team between USA and Brazil in their quarterfinal clash on Friday.
The Flamingos finished second in their group with six points after beating New Zealand 4-0 on Friday, October 14 while Germany came tops with nine points after beating New Zealand 3-1 on Monday.
As was the case against New Zealand last Friday, the Flamingos created a plethora of opportunities that were not converted, however, the head coach Bankole Olowookere has assured that the team will get even better as the tournament progresses.
“We missed a number of chances again, but I like the spirit of the team and we will get better as we go on in the competition. I am happy we made it into the last eight, and that we sustained our winning mentality despite the fact that we only needed a draw to sail through.”
The young Super Falcons who have played in every edition of the tournament except 2018, look set to redeem herself in style as she made a fourth quarterfinal in six appearances (2010, 2012 and 2014).
