Nigeria’s Flamingos have crashed out of the ongoing FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup following a 4–0 loss to Italy in their Round of 16 clash on Tuesday night in Rabat.
After qualifying among the best third-placed teams in the group stage, Flamingos began the encounter with confidence and nearly took the lead in the 24th minute. Captain Shakirat Moshood forced a fine save from Italian goalkeeper Matilde Robbioni, who pushed her powerful left-footed effort around the post.
Just before halftime, Anna Copelli broke the deadlock for Italy, weaving through Nigeria’s defence before calmly slotting past Sylvia Echefu.
Nigeria thought they had equalised 10 minutes into the second half when Nguemo Terlumun bundled the ball into the net after a determined run by Queen Joseph, but the Video Support Review (VSR) ruled that Joseph had kicked the ball out of Robbioni’s hands.
Moments later, Caterina Venturelli doubled Italy’s advantage with a spectacular long-range strike that looped over Echefu.
Five minutes after that, Giulia Robino made it 3–0, and in the 89th minute, the VSR confirmed Rachelle Giudici’s goal as legitimate after overturning an initial offside call, sealing a dominant 4–0 win for the Europeans.
Following the match, Flamingos head coach Bankole Olowookere showed deep concern at the team’s early exit.
“Honestly, it’s quite painful,” Olowookere told FIFA.com. “We came into the game determined to achieve something special and progress to the next stage. Unfortunately, we held on for 44 minutes before conceding, and the second half just slipped away from us. It’s one of those things.”
