Nigeria’s U-17 women’s national team, the Flamingos, have secured a place in the semi-finals of the FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup after defeating Venezuela 1-0 in a thrilling quarter-final encounter on Sunday night.

Azeezatt Oduntan scored the decisive goal from the penalty spot in the 89th minute to send Nigeria into the last four of the competition.

The closely contested encounter saw the Flamingos dominate much of the attacking play, particularly in the first half, but they were repeatedly denied by Venezuela’s goalkeeper, Valeria Rebanales, who produced several impressive saves.

Midfielder Favour Nkwocha was booked as Nigeria continued to search for an opening goal, while Head Coach Hakeem Busari introduced Precious Oscar for Oluwakemi Adegbuyi in an attempt to strengthen the team’s attacking threat.

The breakthrough finally came in the 88th minute when top scorer Oluebube Umejiaku won a penalty for Nigeria.

Although the referee initially awarded the spot kick before consulting the Video Assistant Referee, VAR, the decision was upheld after a review.

Oduntan calmly converted the penalty in the 89th minute to hand the Flamingos a crucial victory and spark celebrations among the Nigerian contingent.

The result takes Nigeria into the semi-finals, where they will face Brazil, who defeated China 2-1 in their quarter-final fixture.