Brazil U-17 women's head coach Rilany Silva has explained the reasons behind her team's 3-1 defeat to Nigeria's Flamingos in the semi-final of the 2026 FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup.

The Brazilian coach said technical mistakes and difficulties dealing with Nigeria's physical strength contributed to the defeat in Morocco.

Speaking after Wednesday's match, Rilany admitted that her players made too many errors, particularly when attempting simple passes.

She also explained that Nigeria's quick transitions and counter-attacks caused serious problems for her side.

"Just like against Ghana, when you make technical mistakes against teams that are more physical than those we are used to facing, you will pay for that," Rilany said.

She added that Brazil struggled to take advantage of the spaces available on the pitch because of those mistakes.

Nigeria produced a strong second-half performance to secure the victory. Queen Joseph opened the scoring before Awawu Bashiru scored twice to give the Flamingos a 3-0 lead. Greise Kelly scored Brazil's only goal late in the match.

The victory sent Nigeria into their first-ever FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup final, where they are scheduled to face Japan.

Brazil, meanwhile, will face North Korea in the third-place match as they attempt to finish the competition with a victory.

Rilany's comments show how Nigeria's physical approach, quick attacks and Brazil's own technical errors combined to decide the semi-final.

Source: https://x.com/DailyPostNGR/status/2118215485833597414?a=geNn3zLCZKHDXRwEAtU&s=19