Nigeria Flamingos fall to Poland in U-17 World Cup opener

The Nigeria U-17 Women's National Team, referred to as the Flamingos, commenced their 2026 FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup campaign with a 2-1 defeat against Poland in their opening Group B match held at the Women’s Football Complex in Rabat, Morocco, on October 18. Poland took the lead in the 33rd minute when Wiktoria Skrzypczak converted a penalty, ending the first half at 1-0.

In the second half, Natalia Skrok extended Poland's lead to 2-0 in the 66th minute. Oluebube Umejiaku scored Nigeria's only goal in the 79th minute, but it was insufficient to secure a draw.

Following this match, Nigeria is positioned at the bottom of Group B with zero points, alongside Puerto Rico, while Poland and defending champions Korea DPR lead with three points each. The Flamingos, who arrived in Morocco on October 7, previously won the WAFU-B U-17 Girls’ Championship and qualified for the World Cup by defeating Benin.

They will face Puerto Rico on October 20 in a crucial match.