Nigeria’s U-17 women’s football team defeated Chile 2-1 in the third Group B match at Kalinga Stadium on Monday to secure their place in the quarterfinals of the ongoing U-17 Women’s World Cup in India. .
Substitute captain Blessing Emmanuel scored an early goal for the Flamingos in the fourth minute, following an assist from Opeyemi Ajakaiye to give Nigeria the lead.
Bisola Mosaku added the second in the 82nd minute to guarantee Nigeria a place in the quarter-finals despite Rovermer Tali converting a late penalty for Chile.
The win gave the Flamingos a place in the quarterfinals, set against the United States on Friday.
PUNCH Sports Extra check out some of the other talking points in the game.
Trademark Salute
As was the case against Germany and New Zealand in their opening two matches, coach Bankole Olowookere and his girls carved out a niche for themselves in the ongoing tournament in India with their trademark salute celebration.
With each goal scored, the girls would run to the coaching staff corner to greet the coach and his assistants, much to the delight of spectators in both stadiums where they played. , “Yes Yes. Greetings to the boss.”
shoot at will
The 2-1 scoreline against the Americans did not paint the true picture of the Flamingos’ shooting prowess, thanks to the heroics of Reds goalkeeper Catalina Alvarado, who made a series of saves to keep the score low.
The Flamingos had a total of 27 shots, with 13 of them on target, but managed to convert only two of them.
Fans entertained with ‘Buga’
The Flamingos had local support on Monday, with Nigerians living in Bhubaneswar coming out to cheer on the youngsters in victory against Chile.
The crowd enjoyed the popular Nigerian song ‘Buga’ by Kizz Daniel, which was played for the Nigerian girls when they scored.
relentless olowookere
Monday’s game was an important game for both teams, Nigeria needed at least a draw to advance to the quarter-finals, while Chile needed a win.
But the Nigerians made an impressive start to claim all three points. Despite taking a two-goal lead in the final 10 minutes of the match, coach Bankole Olowookere was relentless, continuing to give instructions and shout from the touchline every minute to keep his girls focused.
Pidgin English, Yoruba take center stage
The Nigerian girls talked a lot during the 90 minutes of the game, communicating in the languages they understood best, with Pidgin English and Yoruba taking center stage.
The Americans were also very loud on the pitch, using their official language, Spanish.
