Nigeria's U17 women's national team began their adventure at the 2024 FIFA U17 Women World Cup with an excellent 4-1 victory over New Zealand at the Estadio Cibao on Wednesday night, Soccernet.ng reports.
Bronze medalist at the last edition of the Mundial, the Flamingos have their eyes set on greater heights this time and they showed they mean business with a straightforward victory over the New Zealanders.
There were only two minutes on the clock when Shakirat Moshood pounced on a pass from Harmony Chidi to give Nigeria the lead.
Khadijat Adegoke then doubled Nigeria's advantage courtesy of a delightful screamer with the assist coming from Faridat Abdulwahab.
In the 28th minute, Abdulwahab got on the scoresheet for the Flamingos as she smashed a right-footed shot from outside the box into the net following a corner from Shakirat Moshood.
But for some profligacy in front of the New Zealand goalkeeper, Nigeria, with 19 attempts on goal, should have added to their advantage before the referee ended the first half.
However, ten minutes into the second half, the Flamingos were at it again as Adegoke turned provider for Taiwo Afolabi to head home Nigeria's fourth of the night.
However, from only their second corner of the game, New Zealand breached Nigeria's defence when Hannah Saxon's shot found the bottom corner of goalkeeper Christiana Uzoma's goal.
Despite Nigeria creating several other chances to extend their lead, the scoreline remained unchanged until the end of the encounter.
The win lifts Nigeria straight to the top of Group A ahead of Thursday's clash between hosts the Dominican Republic and Ecuador.
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Nigeria's next group match is against Ecuador on Saturday, October 19, with a victory enough to see the Flamingos advance to the knockout round. It would be the first meeting between the two countries at this tournament.
In the other match played on Wednesday, defending champions Spain claimed a fine 3-1 victory over the United States, who are still searching for their first title at this level.
