By Amaechi Agbo
Nigeria’s Flamingos booked their place in the semi-finals of this year’s FIFA U17 Women’s World Cup finals after securing a 1-0 victory over Venezuela on Sunday night, with Azeezatt Oduntan scoring a late penalty in the 89th minute.
The quarter-final contest had been closely fought, with Nigeria creating several opportunities but finding Venezuela goalkeeper Valeria Rebanales a huge stumbling block. The Flamingos enjoyed much of the attacking play in the first half, but Rebanales produced a couple of saves to keep the scores level.
Midfielder Favour Nkwocha was also cautioned as Nigeria continued to press for an opening goal. Head Coach Hakeem Busari made his first change of the evening, introducing Precious Oscar for Oluwakemi Adegbuyi as Nigeria looked to find a way through.
The deadlock remained unbroken until the 88th minute, when the referee initially awarded Nigeria a penalty before being invited to the VAR monitor to review the decision. Following the review, the penalty was upheld, and Oduntan stepped forward to convert from the spot with a minute left on the clock, giving Nigeria the breakthrough.
Top scorer Oluebube Umejiaku had won the penalty for the Flamingos, setting up Oduntan to deliver the decisive moment of the contest. The victory sends Nigeria into the semi-finals, where they will face Brazil, who secured a 2-1 win over China in their quarter-final encounter.
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