Flamingos head coach Akeem Busari has reflected on his team’s impressive away victory over Guinea, Completesports.com reports.
Nigeria thrashed Guinea 5-0 in the first leg of
their 2026 FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup second round qualifying fixture at the Stade Félix Houphouët-Boigny, Abidjan on Saturday.
Flamingos Assert Early Authority
The Flamingos assert dominance from the very first whistle, with captain Harmony Chidi leading by example in a remarkable individual display.
Chidi opened the scoring in the first minute to hand the visitors an immediate advantage.
The striker doubled the lead in the 13th minute with a stunning long-range effort.
Busari’s side continued to press, and their attacking intent paid off again in the 37th minute when FC Robo Queens’ forward Oluwakemi Adegbuyi extended the scoreline to 3-0.
Three minutes later, Chidi completed her hat-trick with a composed finish, capping an outstanding first-half performance.
Read Also:2026 U-17 WWCQ: Flamingos Hammer Guinea 5-0 Away In Second Round First Leg Tie
The Flamingos maintained their intensity after the break, and their dominance was further rewarded in the 56th minute when Mary Dunstan added a fifth goal to seal an emphatic victory for the Nigerian side.
Busari Reflects On Big Win
The result gives the Flamingos a significant advantage heading into the return leg in Ikenne on Saturday , 30 May as they move a step closer to securing qualification for the 2026 FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup finals.
Busari warned that his side must avoid complacency despite their emphatic victory.
“In football, it is not over until it is over . We won here, but we can’t be complacent at home . We want to play well , and win in front of our crowd. This is a new team, and we are still building. The team will get better with more games,” Busari said after the game.”
“The Guineans are a high scoring side too as they won their game convincingly in the previous round. They have quality players in their team, especially the left-back, who is the also captain.
“What we did was to focus more on her, and press from there. That was why we were able to score four goals in the first half.
“Their coach probably noticed that, and introduced a tall midfielder in the second half, and the left-back was able to get more into the game.
“It’s a process, and we need to work more harder, and improve our performance.”
By Adeboye Amosu
1 Comment
Guinea Vs Nigeria : 0-5. Retrospective Review
It is fair to say that Coach Akeem Busari’s tenure as the Flamingos’ head coach kicked off with a fireworks after his young ladies brushed Guinea aside in a 5:0 romp this weekend to edge ever so closer to world cup qualification!
Though a superstar in the making, it is not always that easy to get a tune out of effervescent centre forward Chidi Harmony.
But Harmony was dancing all the way to the bank, looting 3 goals from the vault of possibilities to signal her return to peak performance after painful periods out due to injuries.
And Harmony will have to be on top of her game if she is to continue shouldering the lion share of goals scoring responsibilities for the team for the remainder of this qualification series.
Coach Busari had said before the encounter that he didn’t want to “overload his girls with too much (technical) information; just for his girls to approach the match with the right blend of physicality and tactics.”
And I have to agree with this coaching pedagogue. Underage football doesn’t benefit from overthinking. That will come in time.
Hence, Chidi Harmony didn’t overthink the scenario for her second goal of the match, blasting a volley over the flailing arms of the hapless Guinea goalkeeper for 2:0.
Adegbuyi’s goal was twice as simple: receive the cross; control the ball; crash the net, job done. 3:0.
A staple of Coach Moses Aduku of the Falconets also reared its beautiful head here as the Flamingos used a through ball (Aduku’s go-to strategy) to part a sea of Guinean defenders before Harmony finished with aplomb for her hat-trick. 4:0, and it was still the first half.
Dunstan would rub Garri into Guinea wound in 56 minutes to make it 5 goals to nil: a great day in the office; a handsome victory in the bag, a team in cloud nine.
Earlier, I referenced Coach Busari’s statement on his girls’ physicality. Perhaps he wants to limit the saccharine he puts in their tea before matches because a few of our tackles were crunchy, to say the least. These will earn the comeuppance of a red card in the world cup if not nipped in the bud.
Other than that, the midfield looks good, the goalkeeper wasn’t overly tested, the strike force looks dialled in and the entire team looks to have the stomach for the fight, Groovy!!!
Well done everyone, we love you!