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Mariam Yahaya hat-trick inspires Flamingos to win over Paraguay in Casablanca
By Oyediji Oluwaseun Babatunde
Nigeria’s U-17 women’s team wrapped up their pre-World Cup preparations with a thrilling 3–2 victory over Paraguay in a friendly match played in Casablanca on Tuesday.
The Flamingos made a blistering start, opening the scoring within two minutes when goalkeeper Elizabeth Boniface launched a long pass to Shakirat Moshood, who teed up Mariam Yahaya to calmly chip the advancing goalkeeper for 1–0.
Paraguay levelled in the 15th minute, capitalising on a defensive error from Christiana Sunday.
Yahaya restored Nigeria’s lead in the 44th minute with a composed finish before completing her hat-trick just a minute later, latching onto a clever through ball from Kaosarat Olanrewaju to make it 3–1 at halftime.
The Flamingos dominated proceedings in the second half, with Shakirat Moshood and Ayomide Abubakar coming close to extending the lead. Substitute goalkeeper Sylvia Echefu also made key saves to deny Paraguay.
The South Americans pulled one back late in the game, but Nigeria held on to claim victory — their 12th consecutive friendly win, scoring 50 goals and conceding just six in that run.
The team will now move to Rabat on Wednesday morning to continue final preparations for the FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup, which kicks off on October 17 in Morocco.
Flamingos Group D Fixtures (Rabat):
🇳🇬 vs Canada – October 19, 8pm
🇳🇬 vs France – October 22, 8pm
🇳🇬 vs New Zealand – October 25, 5pm
