Nigeria’s Flamingos have made history by winning the FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup for the first time after defeating Japan 2-1 in Saturday’s final in Morocco.
The Nigerian girls produced a determined performance at the Mohammed VI Football Complex in Rabat to become the first African nation to win the competition.
Awawu Bashiru opened the scoring in the 39th minute with a long-range effort that slipped through the hands of Japan goalkeeper Kou Kadowaki.
The goal gave Nigeria a deserved lead after an encouraging first-half performance in which the Flamingos had threatened the Japanese defence.
Nigeria doubled their advantage just two minutes into the second half when Oluebube Umejiaku found the net to put the team in a strong position.
Japan, however, refused to give up and reduced the deficit through Fuki Ito, who capitalised on a rebound 10 minutes before the end of regulation time.
The Japanese side increased the pressure in search of an equaliser, but Nigeria defended resolutely to preserve their lead and secure the historic victory.
The triumph marks Nigeria’s first title at the U-17 Women’s World Cup and makes the Flamingos the first African team to lift the trophy since the competition began in 2008.
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It also completes a remarkable turnaround for the Nigerian side, whose campaign began with a 2-1 defeat to Poland in their opening Group B fixture.
The Flamingos recovered with a 2-0 victory over Puerto Rico before producing one of the tournament’s biggest results by defeating defending champions North Korea 3-1.
They advanced to the knockout stage with six points and continued their progress with a 2-1 victory over Mexico in the round of 16.
Nigeria then edged Venezuela 1-0 in the quarter-finals, with Azeezat Oduntan converting a late penalty to secure a place in the last four.
In the semi-finals, the Flamingos produced an impressive performance to beat Brazil 3-1 and reach their first-ever final in the competition.
Queen Joseph opened the scoring in the 56th minute before Bashiru struck twice in the 71st and 80th minutes to put Nigeria in control. Brazil scored a late consolation, but the Nigerian team held on to book their place in the final.
Their victory over Japan capped a run of six consecutive wins after the opening-day defeat to Poland.
The achievement also surpasses Nigeria’s previous best performance at the tournament, a third-place finish at the 2022 edition in India, where the Flamingos defeated Germany on penalties in the bronze-medal match.
Japan, meanwhile, were seeking their second U-17 Women’s World Cup title, having previously won the competition in 2014. They had reached the final after overcoming defending champions North Korea in a dramatic semi-final decided by penalties.
