Nigeria’s U-17 women’s team, the Flamingos, defeated defending champions Korea DPR 3-1 to secure a place in the Round of 16 at the 2026 FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup in Morocco.
Oluwakemi Adegbuyi opened the scoring in the 15th minute, finishing a move created by Mary Dunstan. Oluebube Umejiaku doubled the lead in the 38th minute after receiving an assist from Tosin Rafiu, giving Nigeria a comfortable 2-0 advantage at half-time.
Kanyinsola Yusuf extended the lead further in the 56th minute with a superb free-kick to make it 3-0. Korea DPR pulled one back in the 82nd minute when Yu Jong Hyang converted a penalty awarded after a video review.
Nigeria thought they had restored their three-goal cushion late in the match when Adegbuyi found the net again, but the goal was disallowed following another video review that ruled a foul in the build-up. The Flamingos held firm to claim a 3-1 victory.
The result left Nigeria, Korea DPR and Poland all level on six points in Group B. After FIFA’s tie-breaking criteria were applied, Nigeria finished second in the group and advanced to the knockout stage. The Flamingos will face the runners-up of Group F in the Round of 16.
