Flamingos Sink Venezuela With Late Penalty, Set Up Brazil Clash in World Cup Semi-Finals
By Boye Goodluck, SPORTS DESK –Â Nigeria’s U-17 women’s national team, the Flamingos, have booked a place in the semi-finals of the 2026 FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup after securing a dramatic 1-0 victory over Venezuela in their quarter-final encounter on Sunday.
Azeezat Oduntan emerged as Nigeria’s match-winner, converting a penalty in the 89th minute to break Venezuela’s resistance and send the Nigerian youngsters into the last four of the competition in Morocco.
The hard-fought victory marks the Flamingos’ second appearance in the semi-finals of the tournament, following their historic third-place finish at the 2022 edition in India.
The Nigerian side had dominated significant portions of the encounter but struggled to find a breakthrough against a disciplined Venezuelan defence until the closing stages.
The decisive moment came when Oluebube Umejiaku was fouled inside the penalty area, allowing Oduntan to step forward and calmly convert from the spot.
Venezuela pushed for an equaliser during eight minutes of added time, but Nigeria held on to secure their passage into the semi-finals.
The victory also gives Nigeria a record fourth win in regular time at a single edition of the FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup.
The Flamingos had earlier recovered from a 2-1 opening defeat to Poland with victories over Puerto Rico and defending champions North Korea in the group stage before defeating Mexico 2-1 in the round of 16.
Their next challenge will be against Brazil, who booked their semi-final ticket with a 2-1 comeback victory over China in their quarter-final match.
The Nigeria-Brazil semi-final is scheduled for Wednesday, November 4, as the Flamingos seek another victory to secure a place in the tournament’s final.
