Nigeria’s Flamingos head coach Akeem Busari has acknowledged the immense difficulty of his side’s victory over Mexico, praising his players’ resilience after securing a quarter-final berth at the ongoing 2026 FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup in Morocco.

The Flamingos took control of the match in the 40th minute when Oluebube Umejiaku broke the deadlock with a clinical strike, rewarding Nigeria’s persistent first-half dominance.

Busari’s side maintained their tactical composure after the restart and extended their lead in the 72nd minute through Mary Akpan Dunstan, placing the team in a commanding position to seal qualification.

Mexico mounted a frantic late comeback, pulling a goal back through Emily Delgado in the 10th minute of stoppage time, but the Nigerian defense stood firm to preserve the 2-1 win and secure a spot in the last eight.

Reflecting on the intense battle in a post-match interview with FIFA.com, Busari admitted that the high stakes of the knockout rounds brought added pressure, but insisted his team proved their mental toughness.

“When you come into this kind of competition, and you get to the knockout stages, it’s more tactical and there’s a lot of intensity involved because they’re young and anxiety comes,” Busari said. “Today was a tough game, but we’re no pushovers.”