Nigeria’s U-17 women’s national team, the Flamingos, rounded off their pre-World Cup preparations in style with a thrilling 3–2 victory over Paraguay in Casablanca on Tuesday evening.

It was a contest brimming with pace, precision, and promise as Coach Bankole Olowookere’s girls sealed their 12th warm-up game, extending their tally to an impressive 50 goals scored and just six conceded throughout their build-up to the global showpiece.

The young Nigerians wasted no time setting the tone, taking the lead inside the opening two minutes. Goalkeeper Elizabeth Boniface sent a pinpoint long pass to captain Shakirat Moshood, who unselfishly laid it off for Mariam Yahaya. The forward made no mistake, lifting the ball over the onrushing Paraguayan goalkeeper to give Nigeria an early lead.

Eight minutes later, Moshood nearly doubled the advantage, but her effort sailed narrowly over the bar. Paraguay capitalized on a defensive lapse in the 15th minute, as Christiana Sunday’s error handed them an equaliser against the run of play. The South Americans grew in confidence afterward, forcing Boniface into two sharp saves before the Flamingos regained control.

Nigeria restored their advantage just before halftime. A defensive mix-up at the back allowed Yahaya to pounce for her second goal in the 44th minute, and within a minute, she completed a sensational first-half hat-trick, thanks to a clever through ball from Kaosarat Olanrewaju.

The Flamingos maintained their attacking rhythm after the break, with Ayomide Abubakar and Moshood both coming close to adding to the tally. Substitute goalkeeper Sylvia Echefu also made a key save in the 69th minute to preserve Nigeria’s lead. Paraguay managed to pull one back late on, but it wasn’t enough to deny the Flamingos a well-deserved 3–2 victory.

With their training camp in Morocco now concluded, the team will move to Rabat on Wednesday to settle into their FIFA accommodation ahead of the 2025 FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup, which kicks off on October 17.

Drawn in Group D, Nigeria will begin their campaign against Canada on Sunday, October 19, face France three days later, and wrap up the group stage against Samoa on October 25.