Nigeria's under 17 girls need one more result to book their World Cup ticket.

Nigeria's under 17 women's team, the Flamingos, play Benin Republic on Saturday. It is the first leg of the final qualifying round for a place at this year's FIFA U 17 Women's World Cup in Morocco. Win the tie and they are through. It would be Nigeria's latest trip to a tournament this team has reached with more consistency than almost any other Nigerian national side, men's or women's.

They arrive in good form. The Flamingos beat Guinea 11 0 on aggregate across two legs to get here, with captain Harmony Chidi scoring five of those goals herself. Oluwakemi Adegbuyi added three more. Coach Akeem Busari has kept the squad playing friendlies through the break rather than letting the momentum sit.

There is a particular feeling that comes with watching a Nigerian youth side win like this. It is not the careful, guarded optimism that follows the senior national team into most tournaments lately. It is closer to certainty. The Flamingos have made deep World Cup runs a habit, not an event, going back years. A country that spends most weeks reading about systems that do not work gets, every so often, a team that simply does.

Kickoff is Saturday in Ikenne, Ogun State. Whatever else the weekend brings, that one is worth watching for.

Have a good weekend.