Flamingos head coach, Akeem Busari, says his players showed courage to overcome North Korea in their last group game at the 2026 FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup.
Nigeria defeated the defending champions 3-1 on Friday night to book a place in the Round of 16.
It was a remarkable turnaround for the Flamingos, who started the competition with a disappointing 2-1 loss to Poland, before bouncing back with a 2-0 win against Puerto Rico in their second game.
The West Africans totally outclassed North Korea, and also had a goal chalked off for a foul in the build-up.
Busari praised his players for their strong performance in the game.
“Everybody would have written Nigeria off, looking at Korea’s record and level of play. In two games, they scored 12 goals and conceded only one, while we won one and lost the other,”Busari said in an interview after the game.
“The team we lost to also lost 6–1 to Korea. But we took our courage and let our girls see that Poland are not a team we need to lose to.”
The Flamingos will face Group B’s runners-up in the Round of 16 in Sale on Thursday.