Nigeria Flamingos One Win Away From First U-17 World Cup Final

(Flamingos. PHOTO CREDIT: FIFA Media)

Nigeria's Flamingos are one win away from their first ever final at the FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup.

Standing in their way is Brazil, and the two sides meet on Wednesday in the semi-final in Rabat, Morocco.

Neither team has played in the final before.

Brazil come into the match unbeaten, with three wins and two draws from five games.

Nigeria have bounced back well from their opening loss to Poland and have since won four matches in a row.

The Flamingos beat defending champions DPR Korea in the group stage, then got past Mexico and Venezuela in the knockout rounds.

Brazil have also had a tough road.

They survived a penalty shootout against Poland and came from behind to beat China PR in the quarter-finals.

The numbers show a clear difference.

Brazil have scored 17 goals and conceded nine.

Nigeria have scored nine and conceded four.

Brazil have the stronger attack, but their defence has been shaky at times.

Nigeria's challenge is to keep their solid defence while still creating enough chances to hurt the South Americans.

Goalkeeper Jane Ijirigho and the defenders will be key, especially against the Brazilian attack led by Helena and Greise Kelly.

Brazil's coach, Rilany, has said Nigeria are a physically strong team that will keep up their intensity until the end.

She also praised her side's ability to bounce back in tough moments.

Nigeria's coach, Busari, said reaching the semi-final is a dream come true and that his players want to make the country proud.

The two teams have met twice before at this tournament.

They first played in 2008, when the match ended 2-2. Brazil won the second meeting 1-0 in 2016.

Brazil lead the head-to-head record with one win and one draw.

Nigeria's only previous semi-final came at the 2022 tournament in India.

They lost that match to Colombia but came back to beat Germany in the third-place match and win bronze, their best finish so far.

A win on Wednesday would guarantee them at least a silver medal.