Nigeria’s Flamingos claimed a hard-fought 3-2 victory over the Benin Republic’s Young Amazons in the first leg of the final qualifying round for the 2026 FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup at the Remo Stars Stadium in Ikenne on Saturday.
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The entertaining five-goal contest saw the Nigerian girls battle back from an early setback before securing a narrow lead to take into the decisive return leg.
Benin stunned the home crowd in the 14th minute when Yenido Romaine Gandonou fired the visitors ahead.
The Flamingos responded positively and restored parity in the 24th minute through Queen Joseph, who finished clinically to make it 1-1 before the break.
Coach Akeem Busari’s side returned stronger in the second half and took the lead in the 62nd minute courtesy of Oluwakemi Adegbuyi, putting Nigeria in control of the encounter.
However, the Young Amazons refused to give up and equalised ten minutes later through Nazifatou Dangui, setting up a tense finale.
The Flamingos found the decisive breakthrough just three minutes later as Kindness Ifeanyi struck in the 75th minute to restore Nigeria’s lead, a goal that ultimately proved to be the winner.
The 3-2 victory gives the Flamingos a slender advantage heading into the second leg, where they will need at least a draw to secure qualification for the 2026 FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup in Morocco.
The return fixture is scheduled for Saturday, July 11, at the Stade de Kégué in Lomé, Togo, which serves as Benin Republic’s adopted home venue.
The overall winners on aggregate will book one of Africa’s qualification slots for the FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup, billed for Morocco from October 17 to November 7, 2026.
