Flamingos Edge Venezuela 1-0, Set Up Brazil Semi-final at U-17 Women’s World Cup

Nigeria’s Flamingos edged Venezuela 1-0 to reach the semi-finals of the FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup, with captain Azeezat Oduntan converting an 89th-minute penalty, Channels Television and Complete Sports reported on Monday.

The penalty was awarded after a foul on Oluebube Umejiaku inside the area, and the decision survived a video review before Oduntan stepped up and sent Nigeria through in the closing minutes of a tense quarter-final in Morocco.

Favour Nkwocha was named Player of the Match after a lively display in which Nigeria directed 19 shots at goal against Venezuela’s six, underlining how much pressure the Flamingos carried through the game before the late winner finally came.

The reward is a semi-final meeting with Brazil on Wednesday in Rabat, after Brazil beat China 2-1 in its own quarter-final. The clash pits the African side against one of the tournament’s traditional powerhouses, and the Flamingos will go into it with confidence from a run that has carried them into the last four.

The result extends what has been a steady campaign for Nigeria’s young side, who have grown into the tournament game by game and now stand two wins away from a place in the final. For a team built around energy and pressing, the late penalty win also offers proof that they can grind out results when chances are scarce and the clock is running down.

It is the kind of win that shapes a squad’s belief. Knockout football rewards teams that stay patient when the goal refuses to come, and Nigeria’s players now carry that experience into the biggest match of their young careers.

Attention now turns quickly to Wednesday. Recovery, sharper finishing and the small margins of knockout football will decide whether this Flamingos side goes further than any Nigerian team has gone at this level in recent memory. A win over Brazil would put Nigeria in the final; anything short sends the tie to the bronze-medal match.

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