Nigeria’s Flamingos maintained their perfect start to the 2026 WAFU B U17 Girls Cup with a hard-fought 4-2 victory over Ghana’s Black Maidens in Yamoussoukro, Côte d’Ivoire, Trybal News reports.
The Flamingos appeared firmly in control after taking a 2-0 lead into half-time, but the contest changed dramatically after Nigeria were reduced to 10 players early in the second half.
Oluwakemi Adegbuyi opened the scoring in the 33rd minute with a well-struck finish before captain Harmony Chidi doubled Nigeria’s advantage in first-half stoppage time.
Chidi had already scored twice in Nigeria’s 5-0 opening-day victory over Niger Republic and continued her impressive tournament form with another important contribution.
Nigeria’s momentum was disrupted in the 59th minute when Elizabeth Adesuyi was shown a straight red card after bringing down a Ghanaian attacker as the last defender.
Ghana immediately capitalised on the numerical advantage. Seidatu Wahab converted the resulting free-kick just three minutes later to pull the Black Maidens back to 2-1.
With Ghana pushing for an equaliser, Nigeria responded through a swift counter-attack. Mary Dunstan restored the Flamingos two-goal cushion in the 70th minute after beating her defender and rounding the goalkeeper before finishing.
Nigeria appeared to have scored again shortly afterwards when Chidi found the net, but the goal was ruled out for offside.
The Flamingos eventually put the game beyond Ghana in the 87th minute, with Kaosarat Akanji scoring from a free-kick to make it 4-1.
Gloria Ameaa pulled another goal back for Ghana in the 90th minute, but Nigeria held on to secure a 4-2 victory.
The result gives coach Hakeem Busari’s side six points from two matches following their 5-0 opening-day win over Niger Republic.
The victory also adds another chapter to the growing rivalry between the two West African nations. Ghana defeated Nigeria on penalties after a 2-2 draw in the final of the inaugural WAFU B U17 Girls Cup in 2024.
Nigeria now turn their attention to the remaining matches of the revised six-team round-robin tournament, which also features Côte d’Ivoire, Burkina Faso, Niger and Togo following Benin’s withdrawal.
The competition forms part of the Flamingos preparations for the 2026 FIFA U17 Women’s World Cup in Morocco, where Nigeria have been drawn in Group B alongside North Korea, Puerto Rico and Poland. The global tournament is scheduled to take place from October 17 to November 8.
