Nigeria’s U-17 women’s football team, the Flamingos, have been eliminated from the ongoing FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup in Morocco after suffering a 4-0 defeat to Italy in the Round of 16 on Tuesday.
The match, played in Rabat, saw the Italian team dominate from start to finish. Italy opened the scoring late in the first half through Anna Copelli, who capitalized on a defensive mix-up to put her side ahead.
In the second half, Caterina Venturelli doubled the lead with a powerful strike from outside the box before Giulia Robino added a third moments later. The fourth goal came in the 89th minute from Rachelle Giudici, whose effort was initially flagged offside but later awarded after a VAR review.
The Flamingos struggled to find rhythm throughout the encounter, with a second-half attempt to reduce the deficit ruled out for offside after video review. The loss ends Nigeria’s campaign at the tournament, a disappointing result following their impressive run to the semi-finals in the 2022 edition, where they won bronze.
Italy advance to the quarter-finals with the victory, maintaining their unbeaten record in the competition.
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