Nigeria’s Flamingos must bounce back against Puerto Rico on Tuesday after losing 2-1 to Poland in their opening Group B match at the FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup in Morocco on Saturday.
The Polish side scored twice before Oluebube Umejiaku pulled one back for Nigeria late in the second half, but the Flamingos could not find an equaliser at the Mohammed VI Football Complex in Rabat.
Wiktoria Skrzypczak opened the scoring for Poland from the penalty spot in the 33rd minute, while Natalia Skrok doubled the lead in the 65th minute after receiving a pass from Blanka Zajac.
Nigeria responded in the 79th minute when Umejiaku converted Kanyisola Yusuf’s pass to reduce the deficit and revive hopes of a comeback.
Poland, however, held on to claim all three points in the countries’ first meeting at the tournament.
The defeat puts pressure on the Flamingos to secure a positive result against Puerto Rico on Tuesday as they seek to improve their chances of reaching the knockout stage.
Nigeria have made eight appearances at the competition and reached the quarter-finals in 2010, 2012, 2014 and 2024.
Their best performance came in 2022, when they won the bronze medal. The team lost to Colombia on penalties in the semi-finals before defeating Germany in a shootout to finish third.
Poland, who reached the quarter-finals in their previous appearance in 2024, began this year’s campaign with victory over the Nigerians.
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