By Felix Onojaiyefe
Nigeria’s Flamingos became the first African team to be on the podium at the FIFA U-17 Women World Cup when they beat Germany 3-2 on Penalties to win the third place bronze.
The match which went down in Navi Mumbai ended 3-3 after regulation time as Germany came from three goals down to tie the game 3-3.
The Flamingos went on to win 3-2 via penalties against Germany U17.
Opeyemi Ajakaiye opened the scoring for Nigeria in the 20th minute and secured a comfortable 1-0 lead in the first half.
Aminat Bello doubled the lead for the flamingos in the 48th minute. Etim Edidong made it 3-0 in the 63rd minute.
The Germans began their comeback 10 minutes later through Tella Viet, and two quick goals from Platinier Paulina and Loreen Bender made it 3-3.
The game was decided via penalty shoot-out where Flamingoes finally emerged 3-2 victorious and claimed the bronze medal.
Victory for Nigeria, becomes the best-ever finish at the competition after three quarter-final finishes in the 2010, 2012, and 2014 competitions.
