Nigeria’s Flamingos suffered their second straight defeat at the FIFA U17 Women’s World Cup after losing 1–0 to France on Wednesday night in Morocco.
It is the first time in history that the Flamingos have started the tournament with back-to-back defeats.
Following their 4–1 loss to Canada in the opening match, Coach Bankole Olowookere’s girls knew that only a win or draw could keep their hopes of reaching the knockout stage alive.
The young Nigerians began with urgency, pressing high and showing great energy in midfield, but again struggled to convert their chances. France, who had earlier beaten debutants Samoa 4–2, found it difficult to settle early as Nigeria pressed intelligently.
Both sides created few clear chances in the first half, which ended goalless — a sign of Nigeria’s solid defending but wasteful attack.
The Flamingos stayed compact after the restart, hoping to avoid a repeat of their late collapse against Canada. However, with nine minutes left, France finally broke through when Maïssa Fathallah fired a low shot that slipped through goalkeeper Faith Boniface’s hands and rolled into the net.
Despite late pressure and a chance deep into stoppage time, Nigeria could not find an equaliser. The result leaves them bottom of Group C and facing an uphill battle to progress.
With one match remaining against Samoa, the Flamingos must win convincingly and rely on other results to stand a chance of advancing as one of the best third-placed teams.
Elsewhere in Group C, Canada thrashed Samoa 6–0 to move top of the table.
It was also a tough day for other African teams, as Colombia defeated Ivory Coast 3–0 and Japan beat Zambia 2–0.