Nigeria’s U17 women’s football team, the Flamingos, booked their place in the second round of the 2025 U17 Women’s World Cup on Saturday after a convincing 4-0 victory over Samoa in Morocco.

Queen Joseph opened the scoring with a fine strike before adding a second, taking her tournament tally to three goals. Captain Shakirat Moshood converted a penalty, while defender Azeezat Oduntan sealed the win with a spectacular finish.

The Flamingos came into the match knowing they needed a high-margin win to stay in contention for the knockout stages, following a 4-1 defeat to Canada on matchday one and a narrow 1-0 loss to France three days ago.

Nigeria started brightly, with Joseph calmly finishing Moshood’s clever pass in the 13th minute to give the team an early lead. Three minutes later, Samoa’s goalkeeper Grace Ae made a good save from Chisom Nwachukwu’s attempt but was beaten in the 27th minute when Moshood dispatched a penalty after defender Holly Leapai handled the ball in the box.

The team continued to dominate, and in the 36th minute, Nguemo Terlumun broke through the Samoan defence to set up Joseph for her second goal of the match. Despite creating further opportunities, including a near-miss by Mariam Yahaya just before halftime, the Flamingos went into the break 3-0 up.

Moshood missed an early second-half penalty, saved by Ae, before Oduntan finally rounded off the scoring in the 67th minute following a precise cross, giving Nigeria a 4-0 victory. Goalkeeper Sylvia Echefu also made two crucial saves to keep a clean sheet.

The win ensures Nigeria’s place in the knockout stage, keeping their hopes alive for a historic run in the tournament.