Nigeria mauled New Zealand 1-4 on Wednesday to set the tone for their campaign at the FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup.
The ruthless Flamingos ran riot in the first half, scoring thrice to take a huge leap into the next phase of the competition in the Dominican Republic.
Shakira Moshood scored the first goal in the first two minutes of the Group A encounter. A brilliant attacking play from the Nigerians saw the Flamingos flying to a 3-0 lead in the 30th-minute courtesy of Taiwo Adegoke and Fairdat Abdulwahab strikes.
On the resumption of the second half, the Flamingos added one more goal to take the tally to 4-0 with a Taiwo Afolabi strike.
However, the Kiwis who rarely threatened the Nigerian goal quickly pulled one back to make it 4-1.
While the West Africans had several chances to increase the tally, some poor finishing prevented Coach Bankole Olowookere’s girls from adding to the numbers.
Following the win, Nigeria’s attention will shift to Ecuador and the Dominican Republic who they take on in their second and third games respectively.
They will play Ecuador on Saturday, October 19th before taking on the hosts on Tuesday, October 22nd.
The Flamingos were third in the last edition of the competition, their best finish in the tournament.
