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WOMEN'S FOOTBALL

Huge win as Burundi hit Djibouti for 18 in U17 Women’s World Cup qualifiers

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Burundi took a giant stride towards the final qualifying round for the 2024 FIFA U17 Women’s World Cup with a staggering 18-0 demolition of Djibouti in the first leg of their third round tie on Sunday.

In a one-sided contest relocated to Ethiopia, the young Burundian stars ran riot, with Esperence Habonima and Roy Nzoyikorera scoring 13 goals between them in an utterly dominant display.

Habonima etched her name into the record books with a remarkable seven-goal haul, hitting the target in the 7th, 52nd, 57th, 66th, 70th, 82nd and 86th minutes.

Her strike partner Nzoyikorera was not to be outdone, however, bagging a six-goal blitz after opening the scoring with just 55 seconds on the clock.

Nzoyikorera added further strikes in the 11th, 34th, 45th, 48th and 72nd minutes as Burundi ran rampant.

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The result leaves Djibouti, who had received byes in the opening two rounds, facing an uphill battle to keep their World Cup dream alive ahead of Wednesday’s return leg in Ethiopia.

For Burundi, the comprehensive first-leg victory continues their impressive run in these qualifiers, having already dispatched Botswana 4-1 and 2-0 in the previous round.

With one foot firmly in the final qualifying round, the Burundian starlets will fancy their chances of advancing to challenge either Ethiopia or Kenya for a coveted place at the U17 Women’s World Cup in the Dominican Republic later this year.

Meanwhile, Nigeria, Senegal, and Morocco took significant strides towards the 2024 FIFA U17 Women’s World Cup as qualifiers intensified across Africa this weekend.

In Bamako, Nigeria‘s Flamingos seized the initiative against Burkina Faso with a crucial 1-1 away draw against a tough Burkina Faso side on Saturday in the first leg of the third and penultimate round of the African qualifiers for the 2024 World Cup.

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Chidi Harmony’s 55th-minute strike handed them a 1-0 advantage heading into the return leg in Abuja on May 18th. 

However, Rainata Oubda’s late equaliser for the Etalons ensured the tie remained delicately poised at 1-1.

Senegal‘s Lionesses also grabbed a two-goal cushion in their bid to reach the final round, overcoming Liberia 3-1 in Thiès. 


Marie Sarr’s quickfire double put the hosts in control before Mariama Faty extended their lead after the interval. 


Brown’s late penalty for Liberia provided a glimmer of hope ahead of the return fixture in Monrovia on May 19th, but Senegal will fancy their chances of progressing.

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Meanwhile, in Berkane, Morocco’s Lionesses took a giant stride towards the next phase, thrashing Algeria 4-0 in a one-sided affair on Friday night.

Ines Aboucharif, Romaissa Ihssan, and Ouafae Bentahri were on target for the rampant Moroccans, who also benefitted from an Algerian own goal by Hannane Sehoul.

CAF

Kunle Solaja is the author of landmark books on sports and journalism as well as being a multiple award-winning journalist and editor of long standing. He is easily Nigeria’s foremost soccer diarist and Africa's most capped FIFA World Cup journalist, having attended all FIFA World Cup finals from Italia ’90 to Qatar 2022. He was honoured at the Qatar 2022 World Cup by FIFA and AIPS.

WOMEN'S FOOTBALL

What a goal-laden day for Nigeria; Falconets also win with wide margin!

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Nigeria Super Falconets gave Nigerians  additional joy after their 4-0 defeat of Venezuela in Cali, Colombia in their last group match. Their victory followed up with an earlier 3-0 win by the Super Eagles in their opening Group D match with Benin Republic in Uyo.

 The Falconets’ win means they have qualified for the Round of 16 where they are most likely going to face Japan when the group games are completed on Sunday.

  Both Nigeria and Germany tied on six points, but Germany have one goal better than Nigeria on goal difference.

The Super Falcons made early hays when Amina Bello put Nigeria ahead after 16 minutes. Chiamaka Okwuchukwu doubled the lead in the 28th minute before Flourish Sebastine put in the third five minutes into the added time of the first half. Joy Igbokwe put in the back breaker four minutes into the added time of the second hald.

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WOMEN'S FOOTBALL

Okwuchukwu shines despite Nigeria’s defeat to Germany in U-20 Women’s World Cup

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Nigeria’s U-20 Women’s World Cup campaign suffered a setback as they fell to a 3-1 defeat against a clinical German side in Bogota, Colombia on Wednesday night.

The result secures Germany’s place in the knockout stages, while leaving the Falconets with work to do in their final group match.

In an end-to-end encounter, both sides created numerous chances, but it was Germany who struck first. Cora Zicai’s pinpoint cross found Alara Sehitler, who nodded home in the 17th minute to give the Europeans the lead.

Nigeria’s star performer, Chiamaka Okwuchukwu, had earlier come close to opening the scoring with a magnificent solo run, only to be denied by German goalkeeper Rebecca Adamczyk.

Okwuchukwu’s persistence paid off early in the second half when she capitalized on a defensive mix-up to draw Nigeria level, celebrating with Cristiano Ronaldo’s famous ‘siuuu’ celebration.

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However, Germany’s quality shone through as they regained the lead through Sofie Zdebel, again assisted by the impressive Zicai.

Despite Okwuchukwu having another goal ruled out for offside, Germany sealed the win in stoppage time with Sarah Ernst’s powerful header.

The defeat leaves Nigeria on three points from two matches, with their final group game against Venezuela in Cali now crucial to their hopes of progressing. 

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WOMEN'S FOOTBALL

Points of Note in Falconets’ loss to Germany

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Germany beat Nigeria’s Falconets 3-1 in their second group game of the FIFA U-20 World Cup. With Germany’s win, the Europeans have made it to the last 16 stage, even with a game to spare.

The coach of Germany, Kathrin Peter acknowledged the efforts of the Nigerian team , saying: “It was a really tough match today.

“That was expected, but we actually had big problems in defence. They had a few chances where we had the necessary luck, we have to admit that.

“But in the second half we were really good and asserted our dominance and I think we deserved to win in the end.”

Here are some major points:

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  • Germany beat Nigeria 2-0 in the final match 14 years ago in Germany.
  • Germany have now won their last four FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup meetings with Nigeria. Alex Popp inspired a 2-0 victory in the 2010 final, Lena Petermann settled the decider in extra-time four year later, and Stefanie Sanders was the solitary scorer in Group D in 2018.
  • This was just Nigeria’s third loss in their past 24 group matches at the tournament.
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