The victor in this encounter will join Germany in the next round of the competition
The Nigerian women’s cadet team and their Chilean counterpart will go head-to-head on Monday in one of the final Group B matches of the ongoing 2022 FIFA U17 Women’s World Cup in India.
Either of these two teams will advance to the quarterfinal stage with a win at the Kalinga Stadium in Bhubaneswar. Nigeria, though, need only a draw to finish as group runner-up.
The Flamingos did not start their World Cup campaign on a good note, as they lost 2-1 to Germany after taking a second-half lead.
But the Bankole Olowookere-tutored girls roared back to life on matchday two to demolish New Zealand 4-0 for their first points of the tournament.
Chile, on the other hand, kicked off their India 2022 campaign with a 3-1 thrashing of New Zealand.
The South Americans, however, had no answer to a 6-0 slaughtering by Germany in their second match.
That scandalous Chile defeat allowed Nigeria to leapfrog the Red One into third place in Group B ahead of this meeting.
Head-to-head
Nigeria and Chile met for the first and only time at this level at the 2010 World Cup in Trinidad and Tobago.
The Africans dispatched the South Americans with little trouble: 5-0, it ended inside the Larry Gomes Stadium in Malabar, Arima. Loveth Ayila (hat-trick), Francisca Ordega, and Ngozi Okobi-Okeoghene were Nigeria’s goal-scorers on the day.
Chile have not been to the cadet World Cup since that edition, while Nigeria have missed only one since the tournament’s inception.
Competition: FIFA U17 Women’s World Cup, India 2022
Match: Nigeria vs. Chile
Date: October 17, 2022
Venue: Kalinga Stadium, Bhubaneswar
Kickoff time: 12.00 pm Nigeria time
Prediction
A Nigeria win is not in doubt.
The Flamingos’ defeat to Germany on Friday was the team’s first loss in five years.
And should the Nigerian girls stay sharp in attack, it could be a long afternoon for Chile.
Chile are quite open to losing heavily, and in 2022 alone, they have been at the mercy of Brazil (8-0), Colombia (3-0), and Germany (6-0).
To make matters worse for the Chileans, the Flamingos are not goal shy against an open customer.
The Nigerian girls thrashed Congo DR 8-0 and Egypt 6-0 (both on aggregate) during the World Cup qualification series. And New Zealand, on Friday, found out that Africa’s best team has not lost that scoring touch.
And a repeat performance could be on the cards for Chile.
Tip: Nigeria to win.
