Nigeria played really well yesterday, beating Samoa 4-0 to move on to the last 16 of the 2025 U-17 Women’s World Cup.
According to AFP, Queen Joseph scored two goals, and Azeezat Oduntan and captain Shakirat Moshood each scored one to help the Flamingos get into the knockout stage as one of the best losers.
Before the Group D game against Samoa, Coach Bankole Olowookere’s girls had already lost their first two games to Canada and France.
Nigeria had to beat the Oceania team by at least two goals to move on to the next round.
They accomplished it in style, starting with Joseph, who scored just 13 minutes into the game.
Three minutes before the half-hour mark, Moshood scored again for the West Africans in Morocco.
After a VAR review, she scored from the spot, sending the Samoan goalie the wrong way.
Joseph finished off a great assist from Tabitha Terlumu with her second goal after 34 minutes.
Two minutes into the second half, Moshood would have gotten her brace.
But Grace Ae, the Samoan goalie, stopped her penalty kick in the 47th minute.
In the 68th minute, Oduntan hit the ball perfectly, sending it to the top far corner and giving Nigeria its fourth goal.
The Flamingos kept going for a fifth goal and could have scored several times.
But they lost the game 0-4, which was enough to get them to the Round of 16. Nigeria had a goal differential of +3 at the finish.
Nigeria came in third in Group D after winning. Canada came in first after beating France 2-1.
On Tuesday, Nigeria will play Korea DPR next.
About the Author
