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Nigeria defeated Japan 2-1 in Saturday’s final at the Mohammed VI Football Complex in Morocco to claim their maiden FIFA Women’s U-17 World Cup title, becoming the first African nation to win the competition.
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Awawu Bashiru, Umejiaku Fire Nigeria To Historic Victory: Awawu Bashiru opened the scoring in the 39th minute with a stunning effort before Oluebube Umejiaku doubled Nigeria’s advantage just two minutes into the second half with an impressive individual goal. Japan’s Fuki Ito pulled one back in the 80th minute, but the Flamingos held on to secure the historic triumph.
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The Flamingos made history as the first team to lose their opening match of the tournament and still go on to lift the trophy, recovering from a 2-1 defeat to Poland to win the championship after an impressive run through the knockout stages.
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Flamingos Become First African Team To Win Both Men’s And Women’s U-17 World Cups: The triumph made Nigeria the first African country to win the FIFA U-17 World Cup in both categories, following the Golden Eaglets’ previous successes in the men’s competition. The Flamingos finished the tournament with 14 goals scored and six conceded in six matches, while Japan suffered defeat in their fourth final appearance.
November 07, (THEWILL) – The Flamingos of Nigeria earned a hard-fought 2-1 win over Japan on Saturday at the Mohammed VI Football Complex, Morocco to win the 2026 FIFA Women’s U-17 World Cup for the first time.
The victory also made Nigeria the first African team to win the tournament, further highlighting Nigeria’s dominance in Women’s football in Africa.
Awawu Bashiru and Oluebube Umejiaku scored the goals to lead the Flamingos to an historic win despite a disappointing start to the tournament.
Nigeria became the first team to lose the opening match and end up winning the tournament, following a 2-1 defeat to Poland in the first match.
Awawu Bashiru broke the deadlock in the 39th minute with a stunning effort that escaped the attention of the Japanese goalkeeper to sail into the net, sending the Nigerian supporters into wild jubilation.
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Two minutes after the break, Oluebube Umejiaku added the second goal with a fine individual strike to beat the Japanese goalkeeper.
Japan pulled one back late through Fuki Ito in the 80th minute to set up tense finish in the encounter.
However, The Flamingos held on to their lead to seal a deserved win to emerge champions of the tournament.
Following the win, Nigeria is the first African country to win the FIFA U-17 World Cup in both the men’s (Golden Eaglets) and women’s categories.
Nigeria scored 14 goals and conceded six goals in six matches.
It was Japan’s fourth appearance in the tournament’s final. They previously reached the finals in 2010, 2014 and 2016, winning their only title in 2014 after defeating Spain 2-0 in San Jose, Costa Rica. While Nigeria played in their first-ever final.
