Nigeria’s U17 women’s national 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 final-round qualifier on Saturday, www.aclsports.com reports.
The victory at the Stade de Kégué in Lomé, Togo, sealed an 8-5 aggregate win for Nigeria following their 3-2 first-leg triumph in Ikenne, earning the Flamingos one of Africa’s four places at the tournament scheduled to hold in Morocco from 17 October to 7 November 2026.
Mary Akpan Dunstan gave Nigeria a dream start in the second leg, opening the scoring in the sixth minute before Romaine Gandonou equalised for Benin three minutes later.
Coach Akeem Busari’s side quickly regained control as Esther Enne Stephen restored their lead in the 15th minute, while Queen Joseph extended the advantage five minutes later to make it 3-1.
Queen Joseph continued her impressive performance after the restart, converting from the penalty spot in the 55th minute to put Nigeria further ahead. Benin responded immediately, reducing the deficit through Hermionne Lokossou a minute later before Romaine Gandonou scored another penalty in the 65th minute to keep the contest alive.
The Flamingos remained composed under pressure, and Queen Joseph completed her hat-trick in the 76th minute to seal a 5-3 victory.
Nigeria will compete in Group B alongside Korea DPR, Puerto Rico and Poland at the 2026 FIFA U17 Women’s World Cup.
The team will aim to go beyond their Round of 16 finish from the previous edition and build on their historic third-place finish in 2022, their best-ever result at the FIFA U17 Women’s World Cup.
