By Treasure Aneith
Nigeria’s Flamingos have booked their place in the quarter-finals of the FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup in Morocco after defeating Mexico 2-1 in their Round of 16 encounter in Rabat.
The Nigerian girls will now face Venezuela in the last eight on Sunday, after the South Americans edged Germany to secure their quarter-final ticket.
The Flamingos began the encounter brightly, pressing the Mexicans from the opening minutes. Mexico, however, created the first opportunities, with Citlalli Reyes and Natalia Perez testing the Nigerian defence in the fourth and seventh minutes respectively.
Nigeria gradually settled into the game, with Kanyinsola Yusuf and Mary Dunstan coming close to breaking the deadlock in the 29th and 30th minutes.
Their pressure eventually paid off in the 40th minute when Oluebube Umejiaku produced a fine individual effort. The Nigerian forward battled her way through three defenders before calmly slotting the ball past Mexican goalkeeper Lopez to give the Flamingos the lead.
Nigeria went into the break in control and resumed the second half with the same attacking intent.
Head coach Hakeem Busari was forced into his first change after Oluwakemi Adegbuyi picked up a knock in the first half, with Precious Oscar introduced in her place.
The Flamingos doubled their advantage in the 71st minute through Dunstan, who finished from close range to register her first goal of the tournament.
Mexico refused to surrender and continued to push forward in search of a way back into the contest. Their persistence finally paid off deep into stoppage time when Camila Campos found the net in the 10th minute of added time.
The late goal created a tense finish, but Nigeria held firm to secure a deserved victory and passage into the quarter-finals.
The Flamingos will now turn their attention to Venezuela, who defeated Germany in their Round of 16 clash on Wednesday.
Following the victory over Mexico, the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Grassroots Sports Development, Anthony Adeyinka Adeboye, pledged N2 million to the team.
The NFF Acting General Secretary, Dr Emmanuel Ikpeme, also pledged N1 million to the players for reaching the last eight.
Meanwhile, Ghana also advanced to the quarter-finals after defeating Argentina 5-4 on penalties following a 1-1 draw.
However, Morocco’s campaign came to an end after the hosts suffered a heavy defeat to DPR Korea.
Ghana will face the winner of the Round of 16 match between Kenya and Japan in the quarter-finals.
