Nigeria’s U-17 women’s national team, the Flamingos, revived their campaign at the 2026 FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup with a 2–0 victory over Puerto Rico on Tuesday, October 20, in Morocco.
The victory in their Group B encounter marked Nigeria’s first win of the tournament following their opening-match defeat to Poland. Goals from Oluwakemi Adegbuyi and substitute Precious Oscar secured all three points for the Nigerian side.
Adegbuyi Opens the Scoring
Nigeria started the match with attacking intent and created several early opportunities. Their pressure paid off in the 25th minute when Oluwakemi Adegbuyi found the back of the net.
After an initial effort was blocked following a pass from Queen Joseph, Adegbuyi reacted quickly to the rebound and fired the ball past Puerto Rico goalkeeper Victoria Moore-Torres to give the Flamingos a 1–0 lead.
Nigeria maintained their advantage until half-time, although Puerto Rico continued to look for opportunities to get back into the contest.
Precious Oscar Seals the Victory
Puerto Rico pushed for an equaliser in the second half, but Nigeria defended resolutely and continued to threaten on the counterattack.
The Flamingos finally secured the victory in the third minute of stoppage time. Substitute Precious Oscar rose to head home a cross from Oluebube Umejiaku in the 90+3rd minute, making it 2–0 and confirming Nigeria’s first three points of the competition.
Nigeria goalkeeper Jane Ijirigho also made important saves to preserve the clean sheet.
Nigeria Keep Knockout Hopes Alive
The result was a significant boost for Nigeria after their opening 2–1 defeat to Poland. The Flamingos will now turn their attention to their final Group B fixture against defending champions DPR Korea on Friday, October 23.
With qualification still to be decided, Nigeria will need another determined performance against one of the tournament’s strongest sides to strengthen their hopes of reaching the knockout stages.
For Puerto Rico, the defeat leaves the team seeking its first points of the competition ahead of its final group match against Poland.
Full-time result: Nigeria U-17 2–0 Puerto Rico U-17
Competition: FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup Morocco 2026
Group: B
Nigeria’s goal scorers:
- Oluwakemi Adegbuyi (25′)
- Precious Oscar (90+3′)
Player of the Match: Oluwakemi Adegbuyi.
Source: FIFA, Concacaf and Channels Television.
