Flamingos Defeat Japan To Win First U-17 Women's World Cup Title

Flamingos Defeat Japan To Win First U-17 Women's World Cup Title

HISTORY HAS BEEN MADE IN MOROCCO!

Nigeria's Flamingos have won their first FIFA Under-17 Women's World Cup title after defeating Japan 2-1 in Saturday's final.

The Flamingos became the first African team to win the competition, with goals from Awawu Bashiru and Oluebube Umejiaku securing the historic victory.

FINAL SCORE: Japan 1-2 Nigeria

How The Goals Came:

39' - GOAL NIGERIA! Awawu Bashiru opened the scoring, finishing off an assist from Mary Dunstan to give Nigeria a 1-0 lead at half-time. Her long-range effort slipped through the hands of Japan goalkeeper Kou Kadowaki.

47' - GOAL NIGERIA! Just two minutes into the second half, Oluebube Umejiaku doubled the advantage, scoring after being set up by Esther Stephen. Nigeria 2-0.

80' - GOAL JAPAN! Fuki Ito pulled one back late for Japan to make it 2-1 and set up a tense finish.

Nigeria held firm for the final minutes, plus 5 minutes of added time, to complete a remarkable tournament turnaround.

Player of the Match: Oluebube Umejiaku

Umejiaku was named Player of the Match. She finished the tournament with a remarkable record, contributing to a goal in all seven of Nigeria's matches.

Remarkable Turnaround - From Defeat To Champions:

The victory over Japan capped a remarkable campaign for the Flamingos, who recovered from a 2-1 opening defeat to Poland to win their next matches on their way to the final.

The Nigerian side responded with a 2-0 victory over Puerto Rico before producing one of the tournament's biggest surprises by defeating defending champions North Korea 3-1.

The Flamingos sealed their first-ever appearance in the final with a 3-1 victory over Brazil in the semi-final.

They are now the FIRST team in the history of the competition to lose their opening match and still go on to claim the title.

Why This Win Is So Big For Africa:

1. First African nation to win the FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup since it started in 2008.
2. First African country to win the FIFA U-17 World Cup in BOTH men's and women's categories. The Golden Eaglets have won the men's version 5 times - 1985, 1993, 2007, 2013 and 2015.
3. Nigeria's previous best in women's U-17 was 3rd place in 2022. Now they are CHAMPIONS.
4. Before travelling to Morocco, the Flamingos won the 2026 WAFU-B U-17 Girls Cup in Cote d'Ivoire, recording five victories from five matches, scoring 17 goals and conceding just once.

Reactions:

The National Sports Commission (NSC) has congratulated the Flamingos, describing the triumph as a defining moment for Nigerian and African women's football.

Nigeria's First Lady, Senator Oluremi Tinubu, was also seen cheering the Flamingos during the final match against Japan.

Japan were seeking their second U-17 Women's World Cup title, having previously won the competition in 2014. But on this day, Nigeria was too strong.

Venue: Mohammed VI Football Complex, Pitch 3, Rabat / Sale, Morocco
Coach: Akeem Busari - He kept the same starting XI that defeated Brazil 3-1 in the semi-final.

Congratulations to our Flamingos! Champions of the World!

Drop a in the comments if you are proud of these girls. Share this to celebrate our champions - they have made Nigeria and Africa proud!

This report originally appeared on Imo Media Hub - www.imomediahub.org