Nigeria U-17 women’s head coach Akeem Busari has identified concentration as a key area for improvement as the Flamingos prepare for their quarter-final clash against Venezuela at the 2026 FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup in Morocco.
The Flamingos defeated Mexico 2-1 on Thursday to secure their place in the last eight, with goals from Oluebube Umejiaku and Mary Dunstan sealing an impressive victory in their Round of 16 encounter.
Umejiaku opened the scoring in the 40th minute before Dunstan doubled Nigeria’s advantage in the 72nd minute. Mexico’s Emily Delgado pulled one back in stoppage time, setting up a tense finish, but the Nigerian side held on to progress.
The victory saw the Flamingos equal their personal best of three wins in a single FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup edition.
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Speaking after the game, Busari explained that his team’s tactical approach was shaped by an analysis of Mexico’s playing style, which he described as similar to Nigeria’s.
“Immediately after we got the qualification, we were playing Mexico, we were able to look at what and what they have in terms of their game analysis and how do we take the shape of the game,” he said.
“They play our own style as well, very tough on the ball, they want to shoot from anywhere and they are skilful as well. So, we got to play on the mid-block to be able to drive the ball away from them.”
The coach also acknowledged the anxiety that can affect young players during knockout matches, explaining that patience and composure from the sidelines helped the Flamingos manage the contest.
“A couple of chances in the first half, but we believe at this stage, which is a knockout stage, for their age, you must notice anxiety. You must notice panic because they don’t want to make mistakes. And if you don’t want to make a mistake, you end up making one or two or three,” Busari added.
“It’s just about from the sideline, we need to just give them patience, calmness, composure, let’s get it right, a goal will really push us. So that’s how we really managed the game and we were able to just be victorious today at the end of it all.”
Despite the victory, Nigeria’s defensive concentration remains an area of concern, with the Flamingos having kept just one clean sheet in the tournament so far, in their 2-0 group-stage win over Puerto Rico.
Busari pointed to a lapse in concentration during a corner-kick situation as the reason for Mexico’s late goal, stressing the need for greater awareness and discipline when defending set pieces.
“Really, for us as a department, it’s all about concentration. Because even the goal we conceded, it’s all about the concentration. We saw a lot of corner kicks played against us, we defend in units,” he said.
“But as at that point in time, you could see that player was far off on the blind side, but nobody was really going there to really tough her and she was able to slide the ball in.”
The coach insisted that the team would review such moments as they prepare for the next stage, emphasising the importance of remaining focused until the final whistle.
“I think it’s about concentration. These are the things we will still let them see. When it is not over, it is not over. We’ll play for goal, we’ll play for value, we’ll play for upliftment into another bigger stage,” he said.
The Flamingos began their 2026 World Cup campaign with a 2-1 defeat to Poland before recovering with victories over Puerto Rico and defending champions Korea DPR, whom they beat 3-1 to secure their place in the knockout rounds.
Their win over Mexico has now taken them one step closer to the title, but they face another difficult test against Venezuela in the quarter-finals on November 1.
Busari’s side will now hope to build on their attacking performances while addressing their defensive lapses as they continue their pursuit of Nigeria’s first FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup title.
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