Nigeria’s Flamingos made a flying start to their 2026 WAFU B U-17 Girls’ Cup campaign on Wednesday, cruising to a commanding 5-0 victory over the Niger Republic in Yamoussoukro, Côte d’Ivoire.
Captain Harmony Chidi unleashed the Flamingos when she opened the scoring in the 16th minute, before Awawu Bashiru doubled Nigeria’s advantage in the 35th minute to push them further.
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The Flamingos continued to dominate proceedings after the break, although they had to wait until the latter stages before opening the floodgates.
Ohunene Sunday made it 3-0 in the 83rd minute, with Mary Dunstan heading home just a minute later to put Nigeria four goals ahead.
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Ayomide Rotimi completed the massacre in the fourth minute of added time to seal a drubbing 5-0 victory for Akeem Busari’s side.
The emphatic result provided the Flamingos with a strong opening to their WAFU B campaign and another competitive test as they continue preparations for the FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup in Morocco.
Speaking after the mauling of Niger, Busari reflected on his team’s performance, the tactical approach of their opponents and the areas Nigeria still need to improve.
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“Looking at the magnitude of the match we played, Niger, vis-a-vis, we ought to have played them when we are playing the qualifier, because they played Guinea, so from the beginning we could not play.
“But we knew they had a young side like we had, and it’s going to be an entertaining game because we are going to have youthful exuberance in terms of tactics.
“So we could see from the beginning that they are going on a low block. They did not come on the middle or high block.
“So what we need to do is to keep the possession, try to extend the play, having an opportunity of 1v1 in play, then the ability to convert.
“But, you know, youthful exuberance, we wasted a lot of chances in the first half.”
Despite the comfortable scoreline, Busari believes Niger’s approach offered his players valuable lessons, particularly with the Flamingos set to face an even bigger challenge at the World Cup.
“They tried to slow the game down, curtail our attack. But vis-a-vis, at least we have learned from their act if we see a game like that too, because we are still going to play another bigger stage ahead of where we are playing now.
“But it was a good experience.
“They were not pushed over, and we still need to work on our team as well.”
Busari hails Niger’s young side
The Flamingos coach also played down the gulf suggested by the 5-0 scoreline, insisting Niger are a young side with plenty of energy and potential.
“Like I said earlier, Niger, they are not a bad side. They are young, like our team.
“They have the high endurance spent. But the only thing we have ahead of them is the beauty of this opportunity, which is the passing drill.
“Also, aside that, I saw that there’s no much difference from the two teams.
“The two teams paraded young players, full of energy, and they want to play. But it takes a lot of time to build a team like that.
ALSO READ: Flamingos begin WAFU B campaign with 5-0 demolition of Niger
“So we have started to look too, from under 15, try to build.”
Busari believes the continued development of women’s football across Africa is already producing positive results, with more young talents emerging through improved structures and increased competition.
“That’s what I talk about. African women’s football teams have now reached higher levels. We have more improvement from our lads, and it’s helping us more.
“So I believe in the next coming three, four, five years, we’ll see a lot of young talent from Africa that will take over the shape.”
The Flamingos will now turn their attention to their next WAFU B challenge against arch-rivals Ghana in the Jollof derby, scheduled for Saturday, 19 September, as they continue their push for success in Côte d’Ivoire while keeping their larger World Cup objective firmly in view.
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