Nigeria’s U-17 women’s national team, the Flamingos, face a challenging path at the 2025 FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup after being drawn into Group D alongside Canada, France, and tournament debutants Samoa.
The draw ceremony, held on Wednesday at the Mohammed VI Football Academy in Rabat, Morocco, confirmed the groupings for the first-ever 24-team edition of the competition.
All matches are scheduled to take place in Rabat between October 17 and November 8.
For Nigeria, this will mark their eighth appearance at the FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup as country vie to Surpass her third place finish in India- best ever performance at the level.
The Flamingos will need to navigate a tricky group featuring North American contenders Canada, European heavyweights France, and Oceania’s newcomers Samoa.
Group Overview
Group A: Hosts Morocco will kick off the tournament against Brazil, with Italy and Costa Rica completing the group.
Group B: Defending champions Korea DPR are drawn alongside Mexico, Cameroon, and the Netherlands.
Group C: The United States, Ecuador, China, and Norway will battle for supremacy.
Group E: Spain, Colombia, Korea Republic, and Ivory Coast are set for intense competition.
Group F: Japan—the tournament’s all-time top scorers with 125 goals—head a group also featuring New Zealand, Zambia, and Paraguay.
This edition marks two major milestones: the first time the tournament will feature 24 nations and the first time it will be hosted on Africa soil, as Morocco will host the next five editions of the tournament, running annually until 2029.
The expanded format means the top two teams from each of the six groups, along with the four best third-placed teams, will advance to the Round of 16.
The highly anticipated opening match on October 17 will see host nation Morocco square off against Brazil in what promises to be a thrilling start to the competition.
