Flamingos aim for victory in U17 Women’s World Cup opener

Nigeria’s U17 girls, the Flamingos, are set to chase three points as they face New Zealand on Wednesday night in their opening match of the 2024 FIFA U17 Women’s World Cup in the Dominican Republic.

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While the host nation Dominican Republic will take on Ecuador in the other Group A fixture, the Flamingos and New Zealand will clash at the CFC Stadium in Santiago de los Caballeros at 4 pm local time (9 pm in Nigeria). Dominican Republic’s encounter with Ecuador will follow at 9 pm local time (2 am Thursday in Nigeria).

After clinching the bronze medal in the previous edition held in India, the Flamingos are determined to make an even deeper run this time. Flamingos head coach Bankole Olowookere expressed confidence in his team’s preparations and their ability to navigate the competition.

“I have confidence in the girls to deliver the goods at this competition. We have come well-prepared to do even better than we did in India. The Nigeria Football Federation has done everything to prepare the team well, with a two-week final camping here in the Dominican Republic,” said Olowookere.

The Flamingos, who have only missed one edition of the FIFA U17 Women’s World Cup (Uruguay 2018), are not underestimating their opponents but will approach each match with a strategy to win.

In their qualifying campaign, Nigeria scored an impressive 25 goals in six matches, with forward Harmony Chidi netting 13 of them.

Following their match against New Zealand, the Flamingos will face Ecuador on Saturday, 19th October, before taking on host nation Dominican Republic on Tuesday, 22nd October, at the Felix Sanchez Stadium in Santo Domingo.