Nigeria’s Flamingos defeated Ghana’s Black Maidens 4-2 in their second match at the 2026 WAFU B U17 Girls Cup in Yamoussoukro, Côte d’Ivoire.
Oluwakemi Adegbuyi, Harmony Chidi, Mary Dunstan and Kaosarat Akanji scored for Nigeria, who played the final 31 minutes with 10 players after Elizabeth Adesuyi was sent off.
The victory gives the Flamingos two wins from two matches after they opened the tournament with a 5-0 victory over Niger Republic.
Ghana also started the competition with a win, beating Burkina Faso 4-0. The meeting between both teams also renewed a rivalry from the 2024 WAFU B U17 Girls Cup final, when Ghana won on penalties after a 2-2 draw.
Flamingos Take Control
Nigeria took the lead in the 33rd minute through Adegbuyi, who finished well to put the Flamingos ahead.
The FC Robo Queens forward was also part of the Edo Queens team that won the WAFU B CAF Women’s Champions League qualifiers earlier in September. She was named the best player of the tournament.
Nigeria doubled their lead in first-half stoppage time when captain Harmony Chidi scored in the 45th+2 minute.
Chidi had scored twice in the 5-0 win over Niger and had also scored a hat-trick against Guinea during Nigeria’s 2026 FIFA U17 Women’s World Cup qualifying campaign.
Ghana Fight Back
Nigeria’s comfortable position changed in the 59th minute when Adesuyi received a straight red card after bringing down a Ghanaian attacker as the last defender.
Ghana quickly took advantage of the extra player.
Three minutes later, Seidatu Wahab scored directly from the resulting free-kick to reduce the deficit to 2-1.
The Black Maidens pushed forward in search of an equaliser, but Nigeria responded with another goal in the 70th minute.
Mary Dunstan beat her defender and dribbled past the goalkeeper before finishing into the net to restore Nigeria’s two-goal advantage.
Chidi appeared to have scored again three minutes later, but the goal was ruled out for offside.
Nigeria eventually sealed the victory in the 87th minute when Kaosarat Akanji scored from a free-kick to make it 4-1.
Ghana’s Gloria Ameaa scored in the 90th minute, but the late goal was not enough as the Flamingos held on for a 4-2 win.
The result leaves Nigeria unbeaten after two matches and gives coach Hakeem Busari’s side another competitive test ahead of the FIFA U17 Women’s World Cup in Morocco.
The WAFU B tournament is being played as a single round-robin competition following Benin’s withdrawal. Nigeria will face the other participating teams, with Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, Burkina Faso, Niger and Togo completing the six-team competition.
The Flamingos have also been drawn in Group B of the FIFA U17 Women’s World Cup, where they will face North Korea, Puerto Rico and Poland.
The World Cup will take place in Morocco from October 17 to November 8, 2026.
