Nigeria's Flamingos beat Puerto Rico 2-0 on Tuesday at the Mohammed VI Football Complex near Rabat, their first win at the 2026 FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup in Morocco after an opening defeat. Oluwakemi Adegbuyi scored in the 25th minute and substitute Precious Oscar added a second in stoppage time.
It was the reply Akeem Busari wanted after Saturday's 2-1 defeat by Poland, covered in our report on the opening loss.
How the Flamingos got there
Busari made one change. Rodiat Yusuf started in place of Elizabeth Adesuyi, according to ACLSports. The opener came midway through the first half, when Queen Joseph found Adegbuyi, whose first effort was blocked before she drove the rebound past the Puerto Rico goalkeeper from close range.
Then the finishing went cold.
Joseph, Tosin Rafiu and Favour Nkwocha all went close after the break, the NFF reported. Busari turned to his bench on 67 minutes. On came Awawu Bashiru and Oluebube Umejiaku, the latter having scored Nigeria's only goal against Poland. Oscar, also introduced from the bench, finally settled it with a header three minutes into added time. Six were played. Nigeria saw them out without a scare, and the official FIFA match data confirms the 2-0 scoreline and both goal times. Adegbuyi was named player of the match. “The game was not easy for us, but we tried our best and we were able to get the three points today,” she said. It was her first goal at a World Cup.
Busari was pleased, not carried away. “Today, we were not exceptional. We are just calmer today than we were during the Poland game,” the coach told his post-match press conference, as reported by Premium Times.
The Group B picture
Korea DPR thrashed Poland 6-1 earlier the same afternoon. That result reshaped the group.
| Team | Played | Goal difference | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| Korea DPR | 2 | +11 | 6 |
| Nigeria | 2 | +1 | 3 |
| Poland | 2 | -4 | 3 |
| Puerto Rico | 2 | -8 | 0 |
There are 24 teams in six groups. The top two in each group reach the round of 16, joined by the four best third-placed sides. So Nigeria have two doors open.
What Nigeria need against Korea DPR
Both final Group B games kick off at 4pm Nigerian time on Friday 23 October. Nigeria face the defending champions, who have scored 12 goals in two games, while Poland play Puerto Rico. A draw would lift the Flamingos to four points. Poland could only pass that by beating Puerto Rico, and even then Nigeria would finish third with four points, a total that would leave them in contention for one of the best third-placed spots. Defeat is the real danger. Nigeria would stay on three points. A Polish win would push them down to third, and their fate would hang on results in other groups and on how heavily they lost, since goal difference would then come into play for the ranking of third-placed teams across all six groups.
Busari is wary. “They are not pushovers. The competition is getting tougher and more intense,” he said of the Koreans. Oscar, celebrating her “first-ever World Cup goal”, sounded bolder. “Our mindset is to win.”
For the background on Puerto Rico, playing at their first U-17 Women's World Cup, see our match preview.
This article was most recently revised and updated 15 seconds ago
