Nigeria U17 women’s team, the Flamingos, have been dumped out of the ongoing FIFA U17 Women’s World Cup following a 4–0 defeat to Italy in their Round of 16 clash on Tuesday, www.aclsports.com reports.
The 2022 bronze medalists had beaten Samoa 4–0 in their final Group D game in Morocco to qualify for the knockout stage as one of the best third-placed teams.
Head coach Bankole Olowookere named an unchanged lineup from that victory, with goalkeeper Sylvia Echefu retaining her place.
Italy started on the front foot, forcing several early corners before breaking the deadlock in the 45th minute through Anna Copelli, whose long-range strike beat Echefu to the bottom corner. Nigeria thought they had equalised ten minutes into the second half through Nguemo Terlumun, but the goal was overturned by VAR for offside.
Moments later, Caterina Venturelli doubled Italy’s lead with a powerful drive from distance, before Giulia Robino added a third from a curling free kick in the 63rd minute. Substitute Rachele Giudici completed the scoring late on, tapping in from close range after another VAR check confirmed the goal.
Despite the scoreline, the Flamingos created chances through Queen Joseph and Nguemo Terlumun, but struggled to find rhythm against a dominant Italy side.
The result means Nigeria failed to match their bronze-winning run in 2022 or their quarterfinal finish in 2024, exiting at the Round of 16 this time. Italy, meanwhile, advance to the quarterfinals for only the second time in their history and remain unbeaten in the tournament.
