Nigeria’s Flamingos made history on Saturday, beating Japan 2-1 in the final of the FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup in Rabat to become the first African nation to win the tournament. The victory also makes Nigeria the first African women’s national team to win a FIFA world title at any age level.
Goals from Awawu Bashiru and Oluebube Umejiaku delivered the triumph at the Mohammed VI Football Complex, where Nigeria survived a late Japanese fightback to lift the trophy. Bashiru opened the scoring in the 39th minute, and Umejiaku doubled the lead two minutes after half-time, in the 47th minute. Japan pulled a goal back through Fuki Ito in the 80th minute, but the Flamingos held on through a tense finish.
Umejiaku, who was named Player of the Match, also received the Golden Ball as the outstanding player of the tournament. Her 47th-minute winner was her fourth goal of the competition, and it capped a tournament in which she grew into one of its defining players.
The triumph is all the more remarkable for how Nigeria’s campaign began. The Flamingos lost their opening match 2-1 to Poland, and few would have backed them to go all the way. But they recovered to beat Puerto Rico 2-0, upset defending champions North Korea 3-1 in the group stage, and then marched through the knockouts — 2-1 over Mexico in the round of 16, a lone-goal win against Venezuela in the quarter-finals, and a 3-1 semi-final victory over Brazil.
Japan, the former champions, were appearing in their third final of the competition, and they pushed Nigeria all the way. The Ito sisters combined for the late goal, with Fuki converting a pass from Anri, and the final ten minutes were played with Nigeria defending desperately. But the Flamingos held their shape, and when the final whistle sounded, the celebrations began.
President Bola Tinubu congratulated the team, and the victory was celebrated across Nigeria, where the men’s under-17 team, the Golden Eaglets, first won a youth world championship in Beijing 41 years ago. The Flamingos’ triumph improves on their bronze medal finish at the 2022 edition, and it gives Nigerian women’s football its first world title.
For African football, the win is a landmark. No African team, men’s or women’s, had won this tournament before, and the Flamingos did it the hard way — from an opening defeat to the top of the podium, beating the defending champions and the former champions along the way. Morocco, which will host the annual tournament through 2029, provided the stage; Nigeria provided the history.
