Flamingos stun champions North Korea to reach U-17 World Cup last 16

Nigeria head coach Akeem Busari praised his players for showing courage as the Flamingos recovered from an opening-match defeat to beat defending champions North Korea 3-1 at the 2026 FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup.

Friday night’s victory secured Nigeria’s place in the Round of 16 and completed an impressive turnaround after they lost 2-1 to Poland in their opening fixture.

The Flamingos responded to that setback with a 2-0 win against Puerto Rico before producing their best performance of the tournament against a North Korean side that had scored 12 goals and conceded only once in its first two matches.

Busari said Nigeria’s players had overcome the weight of expectation surrounding their opponents and deserved credit for their response.

“Everybody would have written Nigeria off, looking at Korea’s record and level of play. In two games, they scored 12 goals and conceded only one, while we won one and lost the other,” Busari said during his interaction with the media after the game.

The result was particularly significant given North Korea’s strong start to the competition. Nigeria entered the match having secured only one victory, while their opponents had appeared dominant in their opening two games.

Busari also reflected on the psychological impact of the defeat by Poland, which had left Nigeria needing to rebuild confidence before the decisive group-stage fixtures.

“The team we lost to also lost 6-1 to Korea. But we took our courage and let our girls see that Poland are not a team we need to lose to.

“Being the first game in the tournament, we were not really up there psychologically. So this was a game we had to prove our point,” Busari added.

The Flamingos’ recovery means they move into the knockout phase with momentum after successfully responding to their difficult start.

Nigeria will face the runners-up from Group B in the Round of 16 in Sale on Thursday.