Written by Rahmon OluwoNigeria sports betting writer
Published 1 November 2026
Nigeria’s Flamingos are into the semi-finals of the FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup after a 1-0 win over Venezuela in Morocco on Sunday.
Captain Azeezat Oduntan scored from the penalty spot in the 89th minute to settle the quarter-final at the Mohammed VI Football Academy in Salé.
Nigeria had most of the pressure, with Tosin Rafiu, Mary Dunstan, Oluwakemi Adegbuyi and Oluebube Umejiaku all testing the Venezuelan defence. But Venezuela, led by goalkeeper and captain Valeria Rebanales, stayed organised and kept the game goalless until Oduntan’s late spot-kick. Favour Nkwocha was Nigeria’s only booking of the first half.
It is a strong turnaround for a team that lost its opening group game 2-1 to Poland. Since then, the Flamingos have beaten Puerto Rico 2-0, defending champions DPR Korea 3-1 and Mexico 2-1 in the round of 16. Venezuela had knocked out Germany 1-0 in the last 16.
Nigeria will now face Brazil in the semi-final on Wednesday 4 November. Brazil beat China 2-1 in their quarter-final. The Flamingos’ only previous semi-final was in 2022 in India, where they finished third.
