U-17 WWCQ: Flamingos and Burkina Faso play a 1-1 draw in Bamako

Nigeria’s Flamingos were held to a 1-1 draw by Burkina Faso in the first leg of their FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup qualifying tie in Bamako on Saturday.

Bankole Olowookere’s side took the lead through Chidi Harmony 10 minutes after the break.

Rainata Oubda equalised for the home team five minutes from time. Burkina Faso 1-1 Nigeria: Late sucker-punch denies Flamingos win in Mali – U17 Women’s World CupQ

With the game played at the Stade 26 Mars in Bamako, Mali, as Burkina Faso had no standard facilities to host the encounter, the two teams practically were on away grounds.

Nigeria, fresh from their 12-0 aggregate victory over the Central African Republic in the last round in February, settled in quickly and dictated the pace of the match early on.

However, poor finishing from the Flamingos and some resolute defending ensured the game was goalless at halftime.

The story changed in the 55th minute when Harmony finally broke the deadlock for the Flamingos.

Ten minutes from time, Harmony had another chance to double Nigeria’s lead when she dribbled past three defenders inside the box only to fire her effort inches wide.

Burkina Faso made Nigeria pay for that miss five minutes from full time when Rainata Oubda capitalised on a defensive mix-up from the Flamingos.

The return leg is scheduled for May 18 at the Abuja National Stadium, with the winner guaranteed a spot in the fourth and final round of the qualifiers.

Whoever triumphs in the clash between Nigeria and Burkina Faso will look horns with the winner of the faceoff between Senegal and Liberia for a chance to participate in the Dominican Republic 2024.

Nigeria finished in third position at the last edition of the FIFA U-17 World Cup hosted by India.

The Dominican Republic will host the next edition of the competition.