WAFU B U-17: Flamingos Beat Côte d’Ivoire, Move Closer to Title
Nigeria’s Flamingos moved to the brink of winning the 2026 WAFU B U-17 Girls Championship after maintaining their perfect record with a 2–0 victory over hosts Côte d’Ivoire on Thursday.
The result at the 2026 tournament in Yamoussoukro gave Nigeria a fourth consecutive victory and kept the Flamingos firmly at the top of the single-table standings with 12 points from four matches.
Oluwakemi Adegbuyi set Nigeria on their way when she struck in the fourth minute, giving the Flamingos an early advantage against the hosts.
Nigeria maintained control of the contest before Pattra Oparanmegwa sealed the victory seven minutes from full time, scoring in the 83rd minute to complete another clean-sheet win for the tournament leaders.
The victory also strengthened Nigeria’s position at the top of the scoring charts, with Adegbuyi taking her tournament tally to four goals.
Ghana strengthened their position in second place with an emphatic 6–1 victory over Niger in the other major fixture of the day.
Niger took a surprise early lead through Rakiatou Oumarou in the second minute, but Ghana responded emphatically, with Seidatu Wahab, Daniela Abass, Zeinab Shani, Anita Yeboah and Sekinatu Amadu all finding the net.
Ghana’s victory lifted them to nine points, three behind Nigeria, ahead of the final round of matches.
In the day’s other fixture, Burkina Faso edged Togo 1–0 to move onto six points, level with Côte d’Ivoire but behind the hosts on goal difference.
With four rounds completed, Nigeria lead with 12 points, followed by Ghana on nine, Côte d’Ivoire and Burkina Faso on six each, Togo on three and Niger without a point.
The Flamingos now need just a point from their final match against Togo on Sunday to mathematically secure the championship title.
Ghana will face Côte d’Ivoire in the other decisive final-day fixture, with the hosts looking to reclaim second place.
2026 WAFU B U-17 Girls Championship — Standings
| Pos | Team | P | W | D | L | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Nigeria | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | +11 | 12 |
| 2 | Ghana | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | +8 | 9 |
| 3 | Côte d’Ivoire | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | +1 | 6 |
| 4 | Burkina Faso | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | -2 | 6 |
| 5 | Togo | 4 | 1 | 0 | 3 | -5 | 3 |
| 6 | Niger | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | -13 | 0 |
Final Matchday — Sunday, September 27
Nigeria vs Togo
Côte d’Ivoire vs Ghana
Burkina Faso vs Niger
The Flamingos enter the final round unbeaten and with a clear mathematical route to the title: avoiding defeat is not enough by itself, but one point against Togo will guarantee the championship.
