{"id":877006,"date":"2025-10-12T00:16:30","date_gmt":"2025-10-12T05:16:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/2025\/10\/12\/nigeria-3-4-new-zealand-flamingos-stumble-in-first-real-test-ahead-of-2025-fifa-u17-womens-world-cup\/"},"modified":"2025-10-12T00:16:30","modified_gmt":"2025-10-12T05:16:30","slug":"nigeria-3-4-new-zealand-flamingos-stumble-in-first-real-test-ahead-of-2025-fifa-u17-womens-world-cup","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/2025\/10\/12\/nigeria-3-4-new-zealand-flamingos-stumble-in-first-real-test-ahead-of-2025-fifa-u17-womens-world-cup\/","title":{"rendered":"Nigeria 3-4 New Zealand: Flamingos stumble in first real test ahead of 2025 FIFA U17 Women\u2019s World Cup"},"content":{"rendered":"

Soccer <\/p>\n

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\"Soccer<\/p>\n

Nigeria’s Flamingos. Photo Credit NFF Comms <\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Nigeria\u2019s U17 girls, the Flamingos<\/a>, saw their 10-match unbeaten streak snapped in dramatic fashion on Saturday morning after a pulsating 4\u20133 defeat to New Zealand in Casablanca, Soccernet.ng reports<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

It is the Flamingos’s first loss in 11 warm-up games ahead of the 2025 FIFA U17 Women\u2019s World Cup in Morocco.<\/p>\n

Despite the setback, Bankole Olowookere<\/a>\u2019s side showed attacking brilliance that will give them confidence as they fine-tune for the global showpiece.<\/p>\n

\"Soccer
\u00a0 Flamingos. Photo Credit: NFF Comms<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The match was a thrilling contest of end-to-end football.<\/p>\n

Nigeria made the brighter start, pressing high and forcing an early corner inside two minutes.<\/p>\n

Captain Shakirat Moshood<\/a> looked lively in the opening exchanges, while goalkeeper Elizabeth Boniface kept her side level with a sharp save from a New Zealand free kick.<\/p>\n

\"Soccer
\u00a0 Flamingos. Photo Credit: NFF Comms<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The Flamingos\u2019 early dominance paid off in the 13th minute when Queen Joseph opened the scoring with a calm finish after latching onto a precise through ball.<\/p>\n

But the Kiwis struck back through Laura Bennett in the 25th minute; the first goal Nigeria conceded during their entire series of preparatory matches.<\/p>\n

Moments later, New Zealand had another effort ruled out for offside before Moshood restored Nigeria\u2019s lead with a stunning long-range strike in the 42nd minute, sending the girls into the break 2\u20131 ahead.<\/p>\n

\"Soccer
\u00a0Flamingos. Photo Credit: NFF Comms<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Get Our Sports News First \u2013 Join Our WhatsApp Channel Now!<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

Soccer Second-half surge sees New Zealand edge Nigeria<\/h2>\n

The second half was a rollercoaster of chances and momentum shifts.<\/p>\n

Queen Joseph nearly extended Nigeria\u2019s lead, only to see her shot rattle the post. That miss proved costly as Bennett struck again in the 55th minute to make it 2\u20132, before completing her hat-trick in the 74th minute to put New Zealand ahead for the first time.<\/p>\n

\"Soccer
\u00a0Flamingos. Photo Credit: NFF Comms<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Nigeria<\/a> responded swiftly through Ayo\u2019s powerful drive from outside the box to level at 3\u20133, but Candy Sienna\u2019s spectacular 80th-minute strike sealed victory for the Kiwis.<\/p>\n

The Flamingos threw bodies forward in the final stages but couldn\u2019t find a way past a resolute New Zealand defence.<\/p>\n

The defeat ends Nigeria\u2019s remarkable run of 10 unbeaten matches<\/a>, a streak in which they scored 47 goals and conceded only four.<\/p>\n

The Flamingos will next face Paraguay<\/a> in their final preparatory match before moving camp to Rabat, where their Group D fixtures against Canada, France, and Samoa await. Nigeria\u2019s World Cup campaign begins on October 19.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

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\"<!--Imhonlamhen Eronmhonsele” src=”https:\/\/soccernet.ng\/thumbor\/aHGzvPUrFVj1WoXGw7308qAaUAQ=\/150×150\/smart\/https%3A%2F%2Fsoccernet.ng%2Fapp%2Fuploads%2F2024%2F12%2FDSC_0327-copy.jpg” height=”80″ width=”80″>\t\t<\/p>\n

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\n\t\t\t\t\tImhonlamhen Eronmhonsele\t\t\t\t<\/a>
\n\t\t\t<\/h3>\n

\n\t\t\t\tImhonlamhen Eronmhonsele turns into a ball of passion when writing about Nigerian football and its talents, whether rising stars or established legends, locally and abroad.<\/p>\n

From the deepest corners of the Middle East, to the green fields of the Americas, to the celebrated grounds in Europe, and the rich soils of Africa, Imhons is more than glad, usually with a glass of a tasty drink nearby, to capture the essence of the game, by connecting the dots between culture, identity, and football.\t\t\t<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

Read More<\/a>Imhonlamhen Eronmhonsele<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Soccer Nigeria’s Flamingos. Photo Credit NFF Comms Nigeria\u2019s U17 girls, the Flamingos, saw their 10-match unbeaten streak snapped in dramatic fashion on Saturday morning after a pulsating 4\u20133 defeat to New Zealand in Casablanca, Soccernet.ng reports. It is the Flamingos’s first loss in 11 warm-up games ahead of the 2025 FIFA U17 Women\u2019s World Cup […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":877007,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[27096,2005,1535],"tags":[15956,11350],"class_list":{"0":"post-877006","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-nigeria","8":"category-soccer","9":"category-zealand","10":"tag-nigeria","11":"tag-zealand"},"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/877006","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=877006"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/877006\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/877007"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=877006"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=877006"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=877006"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}