2026 FIFA U-17 WWC: CAF Salutes Flamingos After Semi-Final Qualification
The Confederation of African Football (CAF) has congratulated Nigeria’s U-17 women’s national team, the Flamingos, following their qualification for the semi-finals of the 2026 FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup in Morocco.
The Nigerian youngsters secured their place in the last four after recording a hard-fought 1-0 victory over Venezuela in their quarter-final encounter on Sunday, November 1, at the Mohammed VI Football Academy in Salé.
Reacting to the achievement, CAF Women’s Football celebrated the team in a post on its official X account, writing:
“The Flamingos are flying into the semis! 🦩🇳🇬 Nigeria edge Venezuela to reach the #U17WWC semi-finals! #AfricanFootball.”
Captain Azeezat Oduntan emerged as Nigeria’s match winner after converting an 89th-minute penalty to secure the decisive goal.
The penalty was awarded after tournament top scorer Oluebube Umejiaku was brought down inside Venezuela’s penalty area. The referee subsequently reviewed the incident using the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) system and upheld the decision.
Oduntan kept her composure to convert the spot-kick, sending the Nigerian players and supporters into celebration.
The victory marks the Flamingos’ second appearance in the competition’s semi-finals. Their previous achievement came in 2022, when they went on to win the bronze medal.
Nigeria’s qualification also makes the Flamingos the only African team remaining in the 2026 tournament.
Ghana’s U-17 women’s team had earlier exited the competition following a 1-0 quarter-final defeat to Japan.
The Flamingos will now carry Africa’s hopes into the semi-final stage as they prepare for a difficult encounter against Brazil.
The Flamingos are scheduled to face Brazil on Wednesday, November 4, at the Moulay El Hassan Stadium in Rabat, with a place in the final at stake.
Brazil booked their semi-final ticket after coming from behind to defeat China 2-1 in their quarter-final match.
Nigeria will be hoping to maintain their impressive momentum after recovering from an opening 2-1 defeat to Poland.
The team responded with four consecutive victories, beating Puerto Rico 2-0, defending champions North Korea 3-1, Mexico 2-1 and Venezuela 1-0.
With CAF celebrating their achievement, the Flamingos will now turn their attention to Brazil as they aim to reach the final and move closer to winning their first FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup title.
