Flamingos bow out of U-17 Women’s World Cup after 4-0 defeat to Italy

Nigeria’s Flamingos have been eliminated from the 2025 U-17 Women’s World Cup after suffering a heavy 4-0 defeat to Italy in Tuesday’s Round of 16 clash.

The Nigerian girls, who advanced to the knockout stage as one of the best third-placed teams, were undone by defensive lapses and poor goalkeeping, as Italy netted three goals in the second half to seal their progression to the quarter-finals.

Nigeria began the game strongly, pressing for an early advantage, but it was Italy who struck first through Anna Copelli late in the first half.

Caterina Venturelli doubled the lead in the 58th minute before Giulia Robino made it 3-0. In stoppage time, Rachele Giudici added a fourth to complete a dominant performance for the Europeans.

The Flamingos had earlier secured qualification for the knockout round with a 4-0 victory over Samoa, having lost 1-0 to France and 4-1 to Canada in their group games.

The exit ends Nigeria’s hopes of replicating their 2022 performance, when they finished third — the country’s best result in the competition’s history.

In other Round of 16 fixtures, defending champions North Korea thrashed hosts Morocco 6-1, while Brazil defeated China 3-0 to book their place in the last eight.

The Netherlands also advanced after edging the USA 7-6 on penalties, following a 1-1 draw in regulation time.