Nigeria’s Flamingos revived their 2026 FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup campaign with a 2-0 victory over Puerto Rico, with head coach Akeem Busari crediting his players’ composure after their opening defeat by Poland.
The Group B win in Morocco on Tuesday came after the Flamingos began the tournament with a 2-1 loss to Poland. Oluwakemi Adegbuyi put Nigeria ahead in the 25th minute, while substitute Precious Oscar confirmed the result with a goal in the 93rd minute.
Busari said the match had been particularly demanding because Puerto Rico understood the importance of securing a positive result.
“It was a strong win because Puerto Rico knew it was a game that would decide their fate so it was a very tough game for both sides,” he said.
“We were unable to convert our chances in the first half, fortunately we got the second goal towards the tail end of the second half but it was a very rough game, they are not pushing overs.”
The coach also praised his squad for recovering mentally from the disappointment against Poland. He said the players had needed guidance and counselling before producing a calmer performance in their second match.
“As an handler when you are down you look at it and think how so you comeback, it’s all about psyching and these are young players so all they need is counselling and what to do and today they were exceptional, they were more calm than the Poland game,” Busari added.
The result leaves the Flamingos preparing to face Group B leaders North Korea in their final group match. North Korea had already secured qualification for the round of 16 after defeating Poland 6-1 earlier on Tuesday.
Nigeria’s meeting with North Korea will take place on Friday, October 23.
The victory over Puerto Rico also provided a response from the Flamingos after their narrow opening defeat, while Adegbuyi’s goal established control of the match before Oscar’s late strike settled the contest.