Nigeria have never failed to qualify for the FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup. At the finals themselves, they finished third in their group and so failed to progress at New Zealand 2008, but built on this experience to top their section and reach the quarter-finals at Trinidad and Tobago 2010, Azerbaijan 2012 and Costa Rica 2014. Of their three eliminations at this stage, two came after extra time and on one of these occasions it took a penalty shoot-out to end their hopes.

The present

Jordan 2016 will mark a fifth consecutive campaign at thus tournament for the Nigerians, who breezed through qualifying. They were given a bye through the preliminary stage and therefore entered the fray in the first round, where they crushed Namibia both home (4-0) and away (5-0). They subsequently produced a masterclass in the first leg of their second-round tie, running out 6-0 winners in South Africa, before finishing the job with a 1-0 victory in the return match.

The future

With four wins, 16 goals scored and none conceded, the Nigerians certainly looked like a force to be reckoned with en route to the tournament. Spearheaded by captain Rasheedat Ajibade, who top-scored in qualifying with eight goals, they are determined to finally break through the quarter-final barrier and to become the second African side to claim a medal at the competition, after Ghana in 2012. In their bid to do so, Nigeria will take inspiration from their compatriots’ exploits at the U-20 Women’s World Cup Canada 2014, where the Falconets were runners-up.