Nigeria’s U17 women’s national team, the Flamingos, bowed out of the FIFA U17 Women’s World Cup after a 4-0 loss to Italy in the Round of 16 at the Mohammed VI Football Academy in Morocco.
The young Nigerian side, who advanced as one of the best third placed teams, started brightly and nearly took the lead early on when captain Shakirat Moshood tested the Italian goalkeeper with a close range effort. Despite her persistence and energy in attack, the Flamingos struggled to make their chances count.
Italy capitalized on Nigeria’s defensive lapses just before halftime when Anna Copelli punished a poor clearance to put her side 1-0 ahead. Nigeria thought they had equalized early in the second half, but VAR ruled out the goal for a foul on the Italian goalkeeper. Moments later, a long-range cross from Venturelli caught goalkeeper Sylvia Echefu off her line to double Italy’s advantage.
The setback rattled the Nigerian team, and Italy took full control. Robino extended the lead with a superb free-kick in the 63rd minute, and Giudici completed the rout with a late fourth goal in stoppage time. Despite the efforts of top scorer Queens Joseph, who had three goals in the tournament, Nigeria couldn’t find a way back.
The defeat ends Nigeria’s hopes of matching their 2022 semi-final run. Elsewhere, North Korea thrashed hosts Morocco 6-0, Brazil cruised past China 3-0, and the Netherlands edged the USA 7-6 on penalties after a 1-1 draw.
Italy head to the Quarter-finals! ✨#U17WWC
— FIFA Women's World Cup (@FIFAWWC) October 28, 2025
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I’ll be thinking about these points for a while.