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Nigeria’s U17 women’s team, the Flamingos, have qualified for the 2026 FIFA U17 Women’s World Cup after defeating Benin 5-3 in the second leg of their playoff, securing an 8-5 aggregate win.
The victory, recorded in Togo, earned Nigeria one of Africa’s four automatic qualification spots for the tournament, which will be held in Morocco from October 17 to November 7.
Morocco will also automatically be featured as hosts, bringing Africa’s representation in the expanded 24-team competition to five countries.
The Flamingos started the game strongly, with Mark Akpan opening the scoring in the sixth minute.
Benin quickly responded through striker Romaine Gandonou, who equalised five minutes later.
Esther Enne Stephen restored Nigeria’s lead in the 15th minute before Queen Joseph extended the advantage four minutes later.
Joseph added another goal from the penalty spot early in the second half to make it 4-1, but Benin fought back.
Hermionne Lokossou scored in the 56th minute, while Gandonou converted a penalty eight minutes later to reduce the gap.
Joseph then completed her hat-trick in the 76th minute to seal a 5-3 victory and Nigeria’s place at the global tournament.
The Flamingos had earlier enjoyed a dominant qualification campaign, defeating Guinea 11-0 on aggregate in the second round.
Nigeria won the away leg 5-0 before completing the tie with a 6-0 home victory.
Harmony Chidi led the scoring effort with five goals, while Oluwakemi Adegbuyi, Queen Joseph, Mary Dunstan and Precious Oscar also contributed to the team’s impressive run.
Nigeria had defeated Benin 3-2 in the first leg before finishing the job in the return match.
Despite the defeat, Benin’s Gandonou impressed throughout the qualifiers, scoring 11 goals and highlighting the growing quality of women’s youth football in the region.
The Flamingos will now aim to continue Nigeria’s strong record at the FIFA U17 Women’s World Cup.
The team won a bronze medal in the 2022 edition and reached the quarter-finals in 2024.
