Nigeria’s coach, Coach Akeem Busari was full of praise for his goalkeeper, Jane Ijirigho, as the Flamingos stormed into the FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup Morocco 2026 quarter-finals beating Mexico 2-1 in their Round of 16 encounter on Thursday night in Morocco.
Ijirigho is the tallest player at the ongoing age-grade tournament and the goal-tender needed every inch of her 1.92m frame to help Nigeria advance to the quarter-finals.
Though Mexico’s Citlalli Reyes is known to be a predatory scorer from the edge of the box, and looked set to add her third goal of the tournament from that area when sent through just six minutes in, Nigeria’s No One (1) got down low to foil the Mexico captain’s goal-bound shot.
“I was very happy to make the save,” a beaming Ijirigho told FIFA at full-time. “The team did very well, honestly I’m very proud of them. We came out with a great team spirit and we know we have the quality [to match].”
Speaking about the performance of the Nigeria stopper who was at her brilliant best in the game, tipping a long-range Kemberly Garcia thunderbolt onto the bar in an eventual 2-1 win, Coach Akeem Busariwas full of praises for her athleticism between the posts
Waxing lyrical about his goalkeeper after her stops helped preserve victory over Puerto Rico in their second group match, Coach Busari expressed happiness that she was able to make the difference again.
She’s awesome,” Busari said, adding: “She has been fantastic in every tournament. She has a great mentality and she really wants to do her bit and she’s enjoying doing her best for Nigeria.”
Encomiums for the Keeper also came from defender Azeezat Oduntan who said: “She was fantastic,” and blowing a kiss to her No1 added, “I love her!”
Down the other end, Busari’s side hustled and harried their North American counterparts, and it was that pressure which paid dividends for their 40th-minute opener. Esther Stephen’s long ball forward proved awkward for the Mexico backline, allowing Oluebube Umejiaku to steal in and smash home.
“I’m so happy,” Umejiaku added. “I’m very proud of my team – we’re very good. I love my team-mates so much and I love my coach as well. We have a very encouraging spirit and our togetherness is very important.”
Nigeria controlled proceedings from there and duly doubled their lead through Mary Dunstan. While Emily Delgado pulled a late consolation back, Busari was delighted to watch his side follow up their epic 3-1 win over DPR Korea with another complete performance.
According to the Nigerian handler, “When you come into this kind of competition, and you get to the knockout stages, it’s more tactical,” adding: “There’s a lot of intensity involved because they’re young and anxiety comes because it’s the knockout stage. Today was a tough game, but we’re no pushovers.”
For now, only Venezuela stand between the Flamingoes and a first semi-final since India 2022, and Coach Busari is in no mood to underestimate the opposition.
“What I normally say is that every team in the competition is a contender, everyone could be a champion. Venezuela won their game [against Germany], so are a good side. But Nigeria are too, so on the day it’ll be decided over 90 minutes, and we’ll all give our best”, he posited.
The quarter-final encounter against Venezuela holds on Sunday, 01 November 2026 at 19:00 inside the Mohammed VI Football Complex – Pitch 4, Rabat, the Moroccan capital
