Nigeria’s Flamingos have qualified for the 2026 FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup after defeating Benin Republic 5-3 in the second leg of the final qualifying round to complete an 8-5 aggregate victory.
The Nigerian side confirmed their place at the tournament, scheduled to be held in Morocco from October 17 to November 7, with an entertaining victory at the Stade de Kégué in Lomé on Saturday.
Joseph inspires Nigeria to qualification
Holding a 3-2 advantage from the first leg in Ikenne, the Flamingos made a bright start as Mark Akpan Dunstan opened the scoring in the sixth minute.
Benin responded through Romaine Gandonou five minutes later, but Nigeria quickly regained control.
Esther Enne Stephen restored the visitors’ lead in the 15th minute before Queen Joseph extended the advantage four minutes later to hand the Flamingos a 3-1 lead at the break.
Joseph added her second goal from the penalty spot in the 54th minute to make it 4-1, putting Nigeria firmly in command of the tie.
Benin, however, mounted a spirited comeback as Hermionne Lokossou pulled one back before Gandonou grabbed her second goal of the match to reduce the deficit to 4-3.
With the home side pushing for an equaliser, Joseph completed her hat-trick in the 76th minute to seal a 5-3 victory and confirm Nigeria’s passage to the World Cup.
Flamingos maintain impressive qualifying run
Nigeria finished the qualifiers with an outstanding attacking record after scoring 19 goals across two rounds.
The Flamingos had reached the final qualifying stage by eliminating Guinea with an emphatic 11-0 aggregate victory.
They won the first leg 5-0 away from home before recording a 6-0 success in the return fixture.