THE Flamingos will be up against tough opponents, including Germany, at the 2022 FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup in India in October as the draw indicates.
The draw for the tournament, held today in Zurich, Switzerland, placed the Nigerian girls in Group B along with Germany, Chile and New Zealand.
The tournament will be held in three Indian cities from October 11 to October 30, with 16 teams taking part.
The Germans finished third in the inaugural edition of the tournament held in New Zealand in 2008 and reached the semi-finals again in Azerbaijan in 2012.
New Zealand also have a rich pedigree in the competition, finishing third in the last edition in Uruguay four years ago.
The Flamingos are aiming to advance beyond the quarter-finals for the first time.
Hosts India are scheduled to play the opening match of the tournament against the United States of America, joining Brazil and Morocco in Group A.
Defending champions Spain were drawn in Group C, alongside Colombia, Mexico and China.
Africa’s third representatives Tanzania are in arguably the toughest group of the tournament, battling Canada, 2012 champions France and Japan, who won the title in 2014 and were runners-up in 2010 and 2016.
Host Mollie Kmita presented the Official Draw, joined by former US Women’s national team player and FIFA Women’s World Cup winner, Heather O’Reilly, former coach of the New Zealand national team, Ricki Herbert, as well as Jaime Yarza, FIFA’s Director of Tournaments, and Sarai Bareman, FIFA Chief Women’s Football Officer, who conducted the draw.
