Bronze medal match: Nigeria’s Flamingos to battle seven-time European champions Germany

Nigeria’s Flamingos will trade tackles with Germany in the bronze medal match of the FIFA U17 Women’s World Cup in India on Sunday.

Both Nigeria and Germany missed out on a place in the final after losing their semifinal matchups on Wednesday afternoon.

The Flamingos were edged by Colombia 6-5 on penalties after both teams had played out a 0-0 draw in normal time. Germany, on the other hand, was defeated 1-0 by defending World Cup champions Spain also on Wednesday.

Germany and Nigeria met earlier in the tournament in the opening match of Group B. The Nigerians drew the first blood in that encounter, but the Europeans bounced back to claim a 2-1 victory.

The Flamingos have been better since that defeat, though. The coach Bankole Olowookere-tutored girls crushed New Zealand 4-0 on matchday two and defeated Chile 2-1 in their last group game.

The Nigerian girls, in the quarterfinals, shot down the United States on penalties following a battling 0-0 draw to make it to the World Cup semifinal for the first time in history.

A first World Cup medal awaits the Flamingos should they beat Germany in the third-place playoff on Sunday.