U17 World Cup: Nigeria beat Venezuela to reach semi-final
Nigeria has advanced into the semifinals stage of the U17 Women’s World Cup following a 1-0 victory over Venezuela in Morocco on Sunday.
The Flamingos overcame the tough Venezuelans in the quarter-final encounter thanks to a late penalty by Azeezat Oduntan in a match of few chances.
Giant-killing Venezuela came into the match at the Mohammed VI Football Complex after pulling off a shock win over Germany in the round of 16.
However, they were kept at arm’s length by Akeem Busari’s side, restricted to counter attacks that led to four chances that were well saved by Nigerian goalkeeper Jane Ijirigho.
Nigeria, on the other hand, continued to probe the South Americans for an opening until the spotkick arrived minutes before the end.
Olubebe Umejiaku was the player fouled in the sequence, the impressive striker was brought down in the box and referee Hyeonjeong Oh pointed to the spot.
The decision was upheld despite a VAR review, and captain Oduntan sent the Venezela goalkeeper the wrong way to seal Nigeria’s return to the last-four stage since 2022.
The win is Nigeria’s fourth consecutive in the competition, setting a record of four regulation-time victories for the first time.
Nigeria will play their second-ever semi-final in the tournament against Brazil, conquerors of China PR, on Wednesday, November 4.
