Flamingos U-17 World Cup loss to Canada due to individual errors, says coach Olowookere. Nigeria must beat France to stay in contention

Flamingos U-17 World Cup loss to Canada was down to poor decision-making and individual mistakes, head coach Bankole Olowookere admitted following Nigeria’s disappointing 4–1 defeat in their Group D opener at the ongoing tournament in Morocco.

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Despite a promising equaliser from Queen Joseph, the Nigerian girls crumbled under pressure in the second half, allowing the Canadians to net three more goals and claim a dominant win in Salé.

Reacting after the match, Olowookere said his team struggled with execution in key moments and failed to make their chances count.

“It was a huge game. Sometimes there are mistakes, and that’s what gives away goals,” the coach said at his post-match press conference.

“We also had our chances, but we didn’t take advantage of them, and we paid dearly for it.”

Olowookere described the match as a learning curve, stressing the need for immediate improvement if the Flamingos are to stay alive in the competition.

With Nigeria now bottom of Group D, the coach emphasised that victory in their next match against France is now non-negotiable.

“All that we need now is winning. That’s what will keep us in the tournament because we want to remain here,” he added.

“We want to do everything possible, in our training, in our strategy, to win the next game.”

The Flamingos must beat France on Wednesday to keep their qualification hopes alive, before facing their final group opponents later in the week.

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The defeat marks a difficult start for the Nigerian side, who entered the competition with high expectations following recent continental successes.