NIGERIA BEATS MEXICO TO REACH U-17 WORLD CUP QUARTER-FINALS

Nigeria’s Flamingos reached the quarter-finals of the 2026 FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup with a 2-1 win over Mexico on Thursday in Morocco. Oluebube Umejiaku scored before half-time, and Mary Dunstan doubled Nigeria’s lead in the 70th minute. Emily Delgado scored for Mexico in the second minute of added time. The Round of 16 match took place at Pitch 2 of the Mohammed VI Football Complex. Nigeria will play Venezuela for a place in the semi-finals.

Mexico created chances early in the match before Umejiaku put Nigeria ahead from inside the box after a defensive mistake. Her goal was her third of the tournament. Dunstan scored from a rebound after Mexico goalkeeper Ania López saved a shot from substitute Precious Oscar. Nigeria head coach Akeem Busari kept the starting line-up that beat DPR Korea in the team’s final Group B match. Umejiaku started that match, while captain Harmony Chidi was on the bench.

Nigeria lost its opening group match 2-1 to Poland, then beat Puerto Rico 2-0 and DPR Korea 3-1. The team finished second in Group B with six points from three matches, scoring six goals and conceding four. Venezuela reached the quarter-finals with a 1-0 win over Germany and will face Nigeria on Sunday, 1 November. Nigeria finished third at the 2022 tournament in India. Ghana, DPR Korea, China and Brazil have also secured quarter-final places, with two places still to be decided.