Nigeria’s under-17 women’s football team, the Flamingos, has sailed through to the quarterfinals with a 1:0 win against the Dominican Republic, News About Nigeria reports.
Early Wednesday in Santo Domingo, the Flamingos beat hosts the Dominican Republic with an 89th-minute late goal in the ongoing 2024 FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup.
Midfielder Shakirat Moshood took possession of the ball from 25 yards, launching a powerful left-footed strike at goal that went past the Dominican goalkeeper, marking her fourth goal in the tournament.
The match, which ended in the first half with a goalless draw after Moshood’s attempt was ruled offside by the Video Assistant Referee (VAR), saw a charge from the Flamingos in the second half, resulting in victory.
The win is the Flamingos’ third consecutive, and they emerged as Group A leaders above Ecuador, hosts Dominican Republic, and New Zealand.
The win in their final group game has helped them amass a total of nine points.
Recall that Coach Bankole Olowokoore’s team began the tournament with an emphatic 4-1 win over New Zealand in the Group A opener at Cibao Stadium in Santiago de los Caballeros and followed that up with another impressive 4-0 victory over Ecuador.
Olowokoore had expressed confidence that the girls would make Nigeria proud at the tourney.
She said, “I will not change our messages to Nigerians but to thank and appreciate them for their support. They should keep supporting us and having kept these vigils, it will not go in vain.
“Anytime they are watching us, we will give them joy, and we are going to make them proud. This is a promise that we made to them before we left Nigeria, and we are fulfilling the promise to them for them to be proud of us.”
The Flamingos will face their United States counterpart in the quarterfinal bout of the tournament.
