The Flamingoes of Nigeria vs France at the FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup 2025

Nigeria’s U-17 Women’s team (the Flamingoes) lost 0-1 to France in their second group game at the 2025 FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup.  The Flamingoes gave it a go in a tough match where the winning goal came late in the match  in the 81st minute by Maïssa Fathallah.

The game showed defensive improvement compared to their prior match, where they conceded 4 goals against Canada, but the Flamingoes couldn’t break through France’s resistance and were undone by that late strike.

Significance & What It Means for Nigeria

Two Straight Losses

The defeat to France marked their second loss in as many group matches, a result that severely dents their chances of advancing from the group stage. With zero points after two matches, Nigeria’s path to the knockout rounds becomes very difficult. They may need a strong performance in their next match against Samoa and/or rely on being among best-ranked third-placed teams (if that’s in play).

Slight Improvement

The Flamingoes defended more solidly than in their Canada game, held on better under pressure, and showed signs of tactical discipline. However, they still lacked a breakthrough in attack, especially late in the game when fatigue or lapses crept in. There are positives to carry from Nigeria vs France at the FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup going into their final group match.

Learning Opportunity

At youth level, these experiences are formative and the most important thing is to learn from them. The gap Flamingoes need to put their best foot forward against Samoa and  get positive results in terms of the outcome and performance.