Nigeria’s Flamingos have secured a place in the semi-finals of the 2026 FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup, according to a report by PUNCH on November 2, 2026. The Nigerian youngsters defeated Venezuela 1-0 in their quarter-final clash in Salé, Morocco to book an encounter with Brazil for a place in the final.

Captain Azeezat Oduntan scored the decisive goal in the 89th minute, ending a tense encounter that appeared destined for a penalty shootout. The Flamingos had controlled much of the match. However, they struggled to break down Venezuela’s well-organized defence.

Nigeria started brightly, with Tosin Rafiu, Mary Dunstan and Oluebube Umejiaku leading the attacking efforts. Rafiu came close to opening the scoring in the 19th minute, but Venezuela goalkeeper Valeria Rebanales made an important save to keep her side in the contest.

It should be noted that the South Americans offered limited attacking threat and relied mainly on counter-attacks. Meanwhile, Nigeria continued to press for a breakthrough. Despite creating several opportunities, the Flamingos went into the break without finding the net.

With the match nearing its conclusion, Oduntan found the breakthrough inside the box a minute before regulation time. Her late strike secured Nigeria’s passage into the last four and sparked celebrations among the players and technical crew.

Statistics from the encounter reflected Nigeria’s attacking dominance. The Flamingos recorded 18 shots compared with Venezuela’s six. They also won nine corners, while their opponents failed to earn any.

The result keeps alive Nigeria’s ambition of winning their first U-17 Women’s World Cup title. Their semi-final opponents, Brazil, booked their place after coming from behind to defeat China 2-1 in their quarter-final tie.

The Flamingos will now prepare for Wednesday’s showdown, with victory taking them into the final.