It was a night to forget for Nigeria’s Flamingos as they suffered a heavy 4–1 defeat to Canada in their opening Group B match of the 2025 FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup.
The game, which was played in Morocco, saw the young Canadian U-17 team dominate from start to finish, exposing the Nigerians’ defensive lapses and lack of cohesion.
Canada’s Julia Amireh scored twice while her teammates Gabriela Istocki and Melisa Kekic scored a goal each in the game. Nigeria scored a consolation goal through Queen Joseph in the second half.
Head coach Bankole Olowookere admitted his team was second best on the day, saying: “We started slowly and got punished. The girls will learn from this — it’s not over yet.”
With this result, Canada tops Group B, while Nigeria now faces a must-win situation in their next game against France, after which they will play their last group game against Samoa.
The Flamingos of Nigeria will now need to bounce back fast as a team if they hope to repeat their impressive run to the semifinals from the 2022 edition in India.
