Morocco 2025: Flamingos set to finish off Algerian U-17 girls, to grab FIFA World Cup ticket in Bilda

By Harry Awurumibe,  Editor, Africa’s No.1 Women Football Journalist

Barring any unforseen circumstances, Nigeria’s U-17 women’s football team nicknamed the Flamingos are poised to once again defeat their Algerian U-17 women’s team counterparts in the return leg of the FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup African qualifiers tie, despite the predictably-cold weather at the Stade Mustapha Tchaker in Blida in Algiers,  today by 8 pm local time.

With a huge 4-goal advantage courtesy of the Flamingos 4-0 thrashing of young Fennecs of Algeria in the first leg match played last Saturday at Remo Stars Stadium in Ikenne, Ogun state, a barren draw or slim defeat result today will be enough for the visitors to still pick the ticket for the country’s eighth appearance at the FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup finals in Morocco in October this year.

Luckily, the Flamingos, bronze-medallists from the 2022 finals in India and quarter-finalists from the last edition in the Dominican Republic, who arrived in Algeria’s capital city in the early hours of Wednesday aboard a Turkish Airline flight from Lagos via Istanbul, are highly inspired by the imminence of another FIFA World Cup ticket as well as further financial windfall from the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) and billionaire business-mogul, Mr. Kunle Soname of ‘Bet9ja’ fame.

Recall Soname gifted the young players and their officials the sum of N4 million (one million naira for every goal) following their commanding win over the North Africans at the Remo Stars Stadium on Saturday, while the NFF gave out the sum of N2million (five hundred thousand naira for every goal). This is even as the NFF President, Alhaji Ibrahim Musa Gusau, and Soname  both have confirmed that the same financial incentives are in place for the Flamingos for the second leg in Blida today.

Also, Head Coach Bankole Olowookere, who led the Flamingos to their last two World Cup outings, has the full compliments of his players, including the first-leg two-goal heroine Queen Joseph, lone-goal scorers- Zainab Raji and substitute Aishat Animashaun. Others in Blida for the return leg are Kaosarat Olanrewaju, who will start at the fore, with Shakirat Moshood, Muinat Rotimi, and Philomena Isaiah supplying the passes from the midfield. Goalkeeper and captain Christiana Uzoma and defenders Azeezat Oduntan, Hannah Ibrahim, Christiana Sunday, and Jumai Adebayo are also to start today.

Speaking ahead of the decisive match which the Federation Algerienne de Football (FAF) has fixed at 8 pm, at a time when the cold winds will begin to blow in stronger from the nearby Mediterranean Sea,

 Olowookere said he and his team members are aware of the expectations of Nigerians and will fight hard not to disappoint the nation.

“Our objective is clear, to win the FIFA World Cup ticket. That is the big motivation. Yet, we have been further incentivized by the monetary rewards. My girls will go all out on Friday night,” Olowookere said.

Meanwhile, the Flamingos will be without the talismanic Harmony Chidi who was on the bench in the first leg in Ikenne-Remo on the account of an injury that has limited the goalpoacher in the recent time.

However, the Confederation of African Football has selected Cameroonian official Marie Noelle Etong to be the referee, with her compatriots Marcelle Teikeu and Innocentia Ntangti as assistant referee 1 and fourth official respectively, while Chadian Ngarassoum Victorine will be assistant referee 2. Oumou Souleymane Kane from Mauritania will be commissioner and Sabelo Maphosa-Sibindi from Zimbabwe will be in the role of referee assessor.

ALGERIA U-17 WOMEN’S TEAM  VS  NIGERIA (FLAMINGOS) STARTLIST IN BLIDA:

1. UZOMA IJEOMA  CHRISTIANA – 1 – (C)

2. ADEBAYO JUMAI – 6

3. ODUNTAN AZEEZAT ADESEWA – 2

4. OCHANYA PHILOMINA ISAIAH – 10

5. IBRAHIM HANNAH AYOMIDE – 4

6. SUNDAY CHRISTIANA EDEM – 5

7. MOSHOOD SHAKIRAT ABIDEMI – 8

8. OLANREWAJU KAOSARAT OLAMIDE – 14

9. JOSEPH QUEEN -12

10. ROTIMI MUINAT – 11

11. RAJI ZAINAB OLUWASEUN – 18

 *RESERVES*

1. BONIFACE ELIZABETH – 16

2. ADEGOKE TAIWO – 3

3. IHEAGWARAM FAVOUR – 17

4. ISTIFANUS SHAVIN – 15

5. CHISOM NWACHUKUKWU – 13

6. ANIMASHAUN AISHAT – 7

7. ONYINYECHI JACKLIN OPARA ( GOAL KEEPER)

 *OLOWOOKERE OLANREWAJU BANKOLE*

 (HEAD COACH)