Nigeria's U17 women's national football team, the Flamingos, commenced their 2025 World Cup journey with a significant 4-1 loss against Canada. The match, held at the Mohammed VI Football Academy in Salé on Sunday night, marked their heaviest opening day defeat ever at the tournament.

Canada took an early lead, scoring within 70 seconds when Gabriela Istocki capitalized on a defensive lapse from Nigeria, converting a low cross from close range. This early setback spurred the West African side into action. Under Coach Bankole Olowookere, the Flamingos intensified their play, employing a high press, contesting loose balls, and advancing with notable pace and determination.

Their efforts bore fruit in the 30th minute when Queen Joseph calmly slotted home the equalizer. This goal followed a powerful drive from Olamide Olanrewaju, which the Canadian goalkeeper failed to hold. The equalizer temporarily shifted the momentum in Nigeria's favor. The Flamingos dominated possession and created numerous opportunities, registering 13 shots and four corner kicks before halftime, in stark contrast to Canada's two attempts and no corners. Despite their enterprising play, Nigeria could not find a second goal before the interval.

The second half, however, painted a different picture. Canada emerged revitalized, gradually asserting control over the midfield. Nigeria's defensive organization, which had been commendable earlier, began to falter. In the 73rd minute, Melisa Kekic restored Canada’s lead with a precise strike from the edge of the box, exploiting a lapse in the Flamingos' concentration.

From this point, Nigeria's performance deteriorated rapidly. Goalkeeper errors and defensive instability led to two late goals for Canada, both scored by Amireh in the 80th and 86th minutes, completing her brace and sealing a crushing defeat for the African team. This result ended Nigeria’s nine-year unbeaten streak in World Cup opening matches, a record that stretched back to their 1-0 loss to Brazil in 2016. It also marked Canada’s first-ever victory over the Flamingos at this competitive level, following their only previous encounter which ended in a 1-1 draw.

The struggles for African teams continued elsewhere in the tournament. Morocco suffered a 3-0 defeat to Brazil, Cameroon narrowly lost 4-3 to the Netherlands, and Zambia fell 2-1 to Paraguay. Ivory Coast's 1-1 draw with South Korea remained the continent’s sole point obtained thus far. Following this defeat, Nigeria currently sits at the bottom of Group D. France, who earlier defeated Samoa 4-2, is second in the group behind Canada. The Flamingos are scheduled to face France on Wednesday, October 22, and will conclude their group stage campaign against Samoa on Saturday, October 25.