Nigeria, July 5 -- Nigeria's U-17 women's team, the Flamingos, will head into next week's decisive second leg with a narrow advantage after edging Benin Republic 3-2 in an entertaining FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup qualifying match on Saturday in Ikenne, Ogun State.

The first-leg encounter at the Remo Stars Stadium lived up to expectations as both sides produced an attacking display in the final round of the African qualifiers for the 2026 FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup.

The visitors stunned the home crowd in the 16th minute when Romaine Gandonou unleashed a powerful left-footed strike from outside the penalty area that beat Nigerian goalkeeper Jane Ijirigho.

Nigeria responded almost immediately. A minute after falling behind, captain Harmo...