Nigeria’s Flamingos secured a place in the semi-finals of the FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup after a hard-fought 1–0 win over Venezuela on Sunday night, with captain Azeezatt Oduntan calmly converting a decisive penalty in the 89th minute.
The quarter-final clash was tightly contested, with Nigeria carving out several chances but repeatedly denied by Venezuela’s goalkeeper, Valeria Rebanales.
The Flamingos dominated much of the attacking play in the opening half, only to see Rebanales pull off crucial saves that kept the scoreline goalless.
Midfielder Favour Nkwocha was also cautioned as Nigeria continued to press for an opening goal.
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Head Coach Hakeem Busari made his first change of the evening, introducing Precious Oscar for Oluwakemi Adegbuyi as Nigeria looked to find a way through.
The deadlock remained unbroken until the 88th minute, when the referee initially awarded Nigeria a penalty before being invited to the VAR monitor to review the decision.
Following the review, the penalty was upheld, and Oduntan stepped forward to convert from the spot with a minute left on the clock, giving Nigeria the breakthrough.
Top scorer Oluebube Umejiaku had won the penalty for the Flamingos, setting up Oduntan to deliver the decisive moment of the contest.
The victory sends Nigeria into the semi-finals, where they will face Brazil, who secured a 2-1 win over China in their quarter-final encounter.
VANGUARD
