Nigeria’s U-17 women’s national team, the Flamingos, sealed qualification for the 2026 FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup after defeating Benin Republic 5-3 in a thrilling second-leg qualifier on Saturday, completing an 8-5 aggregate victory.
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The Flamingos made a dream start as Mark Akpan fired Nigeria ahead in the sixth minute.
Benin responded almost immediately through Romaine Gandonou, who restored parity five minutes later to keep the contest alive.
Nigeria quickly regained control of the encounter, with Esther Enne Stephen restoring the lead in the 15th minute before Queen Joseph extended the advantage four minutes later to hand the Flamingos a comfortable cushion heading into the break.
The visitors continued their attacking display after the restart and added a fourth goal from the penalty spot in the 54th minute to strengthen their grip on the tie.
Benin refused to surrender without a fight, reducing the deficit through Hermionne Lokossou before Gandonou grabbed her second goal of the match to keep the hosts in contention.
However, Queen Joseph completed her brace in the 76th minute to put the result beyond doubt and secure a deserved 5-3 victory for Nigeria.
The impressive result sends the Flamingos through to the 2026 FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup, where they will look to build on their growing reputation as one of Africa’s strongest youth women’s teams.
Having successfully navigated the qualification campaign, the Nigerian youngsters will now shift their focus to preparing for the global tournament, with hopes of becoming the first African nation to win the FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup title.
