Nigeria’s U-17 women’s national team, the Flamingos, concluded their FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup preparations with a spirited 3–2 victory over Paraguay in Casablanca on Tuesday evening.

 

The win marks the end of a productive 12-match warm-up campaign for Coach Bankole Olowookere’s side, who scored an impressive 50 goals while conceding just six during their pre-tournament buildup.

 

The Flamingos wasted no time asserting dominance, scoring within the opening two minutes. Goalkeeper Elizabeth Boniface initiated the move with a long ball that found captain Shakirat Moshood. Moshood set up Mariam Yahaya, who calmly chipped the Paraguayan goalkeeper to open the scoring.

 

Eight minutes later, Moshood nearly doubled the advantage, but her shot sailed narrowly over the bar. Paraguay capitalized on a rare Nigerian defensive lapse in the 15th minute when Christiana Sunday’s miscue allowed the South Americans to draw level. Buoyed by the goal, Paraguay applied pressure, forcing Boniface into a pair of crucial saves.

 

But the Flamingos responded with composure. In the 44th minute, Yahaya punished a defensive mix-up to restore Nigeria’s lead, and just a minute later, she completed a stunning first-half hat-trick after latching onto a slick through ball from Kaosarat Olanrewaju.

 

In the second half, Nigeria kept pressing for more. Ayomide Abubakar and Moshood came close to extending the lead, while substitute goalkeeper Sylvia Echefu made a key save in the 69th minute to keep the score at 3–1. Paraguay managed to pull one back late on after another defensive slip, but Nigeria held firm to secure the win.

 

With their training camp in Morocco wrapped up, the Flamingos will head to Rabat on Wednesday morning to settle into their official FIFA base ahead of the 2025 FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup, which begins on October 17.

 

Nigeria, drawn in Group D, will open their campaign against Canada on Sunday, October 19, before facing France on October 22. They’ll conclude the group stage against debutants Samoa on October 25.