Rilany Silva: Brazil U-17 coach attributes loss to Nigeria to technical mistakes

Brazil U-17 women’s team head coach, Rilany Silva, has attributed her side’s 3-1 defeat to Nigeria’s Flamingos in the semi-final of the 2026 FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup to technical mistakes and the physical strength of their opponents.

The Brazilian tactician admitted that her players struggled to cope with Nigeria’s physical approach, particularly during transitions and counter-attacks, as the Flamingos secured a historic victory to reach their first-ever final of the competition.

Speaking to FIFA after Wednesday’s encounter, Silva explained that her team’s inability to execute simple passes proved costly, allowing Nigeria to capitalise on their mistakes.

“Just like against Ghana, when you make technical mistakes against teams that are more physical than those we are used to facing, you will pay for that. Against Ghana, we made a lot of mistakes in simple passes, and that happened again today. We suffered because of it,” she said.

The Brazilian coach also acknowledged Nigeria’s tactical organisation, explaining that the Flamingos’ defensive and attacking structure made it difficult for her side to exploit available spaces.

“These are teams that defend and attack with two blocks and offer a lot of space inside the pitch. But we couldn’t take advantage of that because of these errors. We suffered a lot from the transitions and counter-attacks,” she added.

Nigeria’s physical intensity, tactical discipline and attacking efficiency proved decisive as the Flamingos scored three goals to overcome Brazil and book their place in Saturday’s final.

The Nigerian side will now face Japan in the title decider, with the opportunity to become the first African nation to win the FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup.