Greetings!
With the way I follow women's football, I think I should be rated among the top 100 female football lovers on planet Earth. This isn’t an exaggeration—I just love seeing women excel in football, a sport that wasn’t as common for women in the past but has advanced significantly in modern times.
I've been a keen follower of FIFA women's tournaments at all levels, and when this year's U-17 Women's World Cup was about to kick off, I was elated with joy—especially because my nation, Nigeria, is involved. In fact, in the last tournament, I followed every part of it where my country emerged as bronze medalists.
This year's tournament is being held in the Dominican Republic, and Nigeria is grouped alongside the Dominican Republic (the host), Ecuador, and New Zealand in Group A. Before now, I hadn’t really checked the capacity of these nations in terms of their U-17 women's football teams, but I knew it was going to be tough for Nigeria, especially with facing the host nation, Dominican Republic. As you know, home advantage often plays in favor of the host team.
Match day 1 in Group A
Nigeria’s first match was against New Zealand, and shockingly, Nigeria won 4-1. I didn’t watch the match that night because I fell asleep, but waking up to such news filled me with joy. I watched the highlights and saw how Nigeria dominated the match. You know, winning the first game out of three—securing the first 3 points out of a possible 9—really boosts confidence for qualifying from the group.
The match between Ecuador and the Dominican Republic ended in favor of the host nation, earning them 3 points, placing them just behind Nigeria, who led the group on goal difference.
Match Day 2 in Group A:
On Saturday, match day 2 came up, and I decided to watch even though it would disturb my sleep. Surprisingly, Nigeria beat the host nation, Dominican Republic, with a whopping 4-0. Besides that, the match was highly entertaining with lots of drama from the Dominican Republic, especially when they changed their goalkeeper in the second half.
Oh, you need to see how Pozo missed her way when she wanted to kick off the ball and the Nigerian, Peace Effiong didn't miss the chance to take advantage of the mess.
Meanwhile, New Zealand and Ecuador shared the points in a draw, which keeps their hopes of qualifying alive, though it all depends on their final matches later this week.
On the other hand, with Nigeria having won both of their matches and topping the group with 6 points, they’ve already qualified for the next stage, even with one match still to play.
I just wanted to write about it and bring it to your notice because I know most of you are are not aware of the ongoing tournament. Lol 😂
Thanks for reading!
All photos were taken from the official Facebook page of the FIFA WOMEN WORLD CUP