U-17 Women’s World Cup: Nigeria concedes a second straight defeat

Nigeria’s Flamingos coach, Bankole Olowookere, did not hide his frustration after his team’s (1-0) defeat to France.

This setback is Nigeria’s second consecutive defeat in the 2025 FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup. French player Maïssa Fathallah gave the Bleuettes the win by scoring the only goal of the match with nine minutes remaining. Beaten 4-1 by Canada in their opening game, the Nigerian side now see their qualification hopes seriously compromised.

The Flamingos will have to beat Samoa on Saturday if they hope to secure a place in the round of 16. “Our match against France was much better than the one against Canada. If we had shown the same fighting spirit in the first game, I think we wouldn’t be in this situation”, Olowookere told FIFA.com.

The Nigerian coach nevertheless acknowledges how tough the moment is: “It’s really painful to concede a goal at the end of the match, it’s heartbreaking. We’ll keep working hard and see what we can take from this experience to stay in the tournament.”