Nigeria U-17 women’s national team head coach Akeem Busari has praised Burkina Faso for their tactical approach after the Flamingos secured a hard-fought 2-0 victory in their third match at the 2026 WAFU-B U-17 Girls’ Cup in Yamoussoukro, Côte d’Ivoire.

The Flamingos dominated possession and created several opportunities but had to wait until the closing stages to break down a disciplined Burkinabe defence before eventually securing their third consecutive victory in the competition. 

Mary Dunstan finally broke the deadlock in the 82nd minute before Oluwakemi Adegbuyi doubled Nigeria’s advantage in stoppage time to complete another winning performance for the defending West African champions.

Busari acknowledged that Burkina Faso’s tactical plan made the encounter particularly difficult for his young players, especially after Nigeria failed to convert some of their early opportunities.

“Burkina Faso were going to sit back and rely on the tactics they wanted to use in the game. Coincidentally, we were having the chances, but we could not convert them in the early minutes of the first half,” Busari said. 

The coach explained that taking those early chances would have changed the complexion of the contest and potentially produced a more convincing scoreline for Nigeria.

Instead, Burkina Faso grew increasingly comfortable with their defensive structure as Nigeria struggled to find spaces in the final third.

The Burkinabe side also relied heavily on long balls rather than attempting to build consistently through possession, forcing the Flamingos to remain patient and avoid rushing their attacking decisions. 

Busari admitted that the approach tested his players’ composure, particularly because of their age and tendency to become hurried when opportunities were not being converted.

“The tactics Burkina Faso tried to use against us made it a difficult game. We just had to be patient because we are dealing with young players,” the coach said. 

The breakthrough from Dunstan, however, changed the dynamics of the encounter as Burkina Faso were forced to abandon their deep defensive posture and commit more players forward.

That created additional spaces for Nigeria, allowing the Flamingos to exploit the situation before Adegbuyi sealed the result in added time.

Busari also credited Burkina Faso for the quality of their tactical preparation, stressing that the encounter demonstrated the increasing tactical sophistication within African women’s football.

“Football is about tactics. In Africa, we have good coaches and technicians who can come up with something. Kudos to Burkina for their tactics, and we were also able to curtail them with ours,” he said. 

The victory gives Nigeria nine points from three matches and keeps the Flamingos at the top of the competition with a perfect record. 

The WAFU-B tournament is also serving as an important competitive preparation platform for Nigeria ahead of the 2026 FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup in Morocco.

For Busari, the difficult encounter against Burkina Faso provided another valuable test of his players’ ability to adapt, remain patient and find solutions against different tactical approaches.

The Flamingos will now turn their attention to their remaining fixtures as they continue their pursuit of regional honours while fine-tuning the squad for the global championship.