By Dayo Awoniyi
Nigeria’s U17 girls, the Flamingos, are stepping up their preparations as they gear up for the final round of qualification for the 2025 FIFA U17 Women’s World Cup.
The West African team will face Algeria in a two-legged encounter, with the first leg set for Saturday, April 19th, at Remo Stars’ Stadium in Ikenne, Remo. The return leg will take place in Algeria a week later.
The Flamingos secured their place in the final round with an impressive 5-1 aggregate victory over South Africa’s Bantwana. They triumphed 3-1 in Pretoria and completed the job with a 2-0 win in Ikenne.
Algeria, who will be Nigeria’s next opponents, made a remarkable comeback to defeat Botswana 4-2 on aggregate. After losing the first leg 1-2 in Gaborone, they sealed their progression with a dominant 4-0 win in the return leg on home soil.
The winner of the Nigeria vs Algeria match-up will earn a spot in the 2025 FIFA U17 Women’s World Cup finals, which will be held in Morocco.
Other Final Round Fixtures:
- Kenya vs Cameroon
- Benin Republic vs Cameroon
- Cote d’Ivoire vs Guinea
Samuel Ahmadu is a distinguished multimedia journalist and women's football expert with over 15 years of experience in the industry. He began his career at Goal.com in February 2014, where he served as an African women's football correspondent for nearly eight years. During his tenure at Goal.com, Samuel covered major events such as three Women's Africa Cup of Nations (2016, 2018, 2022) and the 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup in Canada plus 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia. His work at Goal.com earned him widespread acclaim, particularly for his in-depth profiles of African football stars, notably Asisat Oshoala, whose rise he documented from her early years to her breakthrough at the FIFA U20 Women's World Cup in 2014. Prior to his role at Goal.com, Samuel freelanced for various print and broadcast media outlets in Nigeria, including Graphics Newspaper, Radio Nigeria, Grace FM, and Savid Newspaper. His extensive experience and expertise led to his appointment to the Nigeria Football Federation's Standing Committee on Women's Football Development from 2016 to 2018. Since February 2018, Samuel has been the Social Media Manager for Nigeria's women's national teams.In 2019, Samuel joined the Confederation of African Football (CAF) as a women's football content contributor and was promoted to Women's Football Editor in 2021. His contributions to women's football continued as he worked as a Media Consultant for Content Creation and Editorials at the 2022 CAF Women's Champions League. Currently, Samuel also serves as the spokesman for the Nigeria Women Football League, further solidifying his influence and dedication to the growth of women's football in Africa.
