Chinwendu Ihezuo

Chinwendu Veronica Ihezuo OON (born 30 April 1997) is a Nigerian professional footballer who plays as a forward for Liga MX Femenil club Pachuca and the Nigeria women's national team.

Early life Ihezuo was born on 30 April 1997 in Ajegunle, Lagos, Nigeria. She spent her childhood in Lagos. After that, she moved to the Delta Queens, and was with them until the end of the 2015 season. In her debut season with the club where she wore number 19, she scored 16 goals for BIIK Kazygurt in 20 appearances.

Ihezuo's career in China began brightly with six goals coming in just six matches of her side's 2019 CFA Tournament campaign as Henan Huishang finished 9th overall. She was then selected by coach Thomas Dennerby as a member of Nigeria's squad for the 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup.

Over the course of the 2019 Chinese Women's Super League, Ihezuo was the league's third top-scorer with seven goals from her 14 appearances. In spite of her efforts, Henan finished in seventh position out of eight teams.

Owing to the consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic, Ihezuo was unable to return to China to compete in the 2020 Chinese Women's Super League season despite being under contract for a second season. Both Ihezuo and colleague Ebi Onome missed the entire campaign due to the closure of air travel out of Nigeria.

International career U-17 national team

Ihezuo made her international debut for Nigeria at the 2012 FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup in Azerbaijan. She came away from the tournament with six goals. Her five goals were also a record for most goals scored in a single game at the FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup. The record has previously been held by Germany's Kyra Malinowski and South Korea's Yeo Minji, who scored four goals each in the 2010 edition of the tournament. Her fete was matched by Lorena Navarro at the 2016 edition when the Spaniard scored 5 goals against Jordan. Her team was eliminated from the tournament after losing to France in the quarter-finals.

U-20 national team

Ihezuo was first called up to the team in 2014. She was one of the leading goal scorers in the competition. She joined the team late for the camp in October in Abuja, after the national team coach threatened her and other overseas players with being dropped if they did not arrive by 8 October. She had to miss a training session as she needed time to recover from jet lag.

She scored seven goals for Nigeria in the qualifying competition for the World Cup. Another goal came in Nigeria's 2–1 victory against Congo DR.

In March 2016, she was one of 40 players called up to prepare for the 2016 Africa Women Cup of Nations. She was a member of the senior national side for the 2015 All African Games in Congo.

Ihezuo was called up to the Nigeria squad for the 2024 Summer Olympics.

Career statistics Club

International goals No. Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition 1. 17 September 2015 Stade Alphonse Massemba-Débat, Brazzaville, Congo 1−0 1−2 Football at the 2015 African Games – Women's tournament 2. 20 January 2019 Wuhua County Olympic Sports Centre, Meizhou, China 1–0 4–1 2019 Four Nations Tournament 3. 29 June 2025 Ziaida Sports Complex, Mohammedia, Morocco 1–0 3–1 Friendly 4. 6 July 2025 Larbi Zaouli Stadium, Casablanca, Morocco 3–0 3–0 2024 Women's Africa Cup of Nations 5. 10 July 2025 1–0 1–0 6. 18 July 2025 3–0 5–0 7. 24 October 2025 Stade de Kégué, Lomé, Togo 1–0 2–0 2026 Women's Africa Cup of Nations qualification 8. 3 March 2026 Stade Militaire, Yaounde, Cameroon 1−1 3−1 Friendly

Honours

BIIK Kazygurt Kazakhstani Championship: 2016, 2017, 2018 Kazakhstani Women's Cup: 2016, 2017, 2018

Pachuca Liga MX Femenil: 2025 Clausura Nigeria Women's Africa Cup of Nations: 2018, 2024 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup runner-up: 2014

Individual FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup Silver Boot: 2012 Orders