How Nigeria's Flamingos turned an opening defeat into World Cup glory

Nigeria won the 2026 FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup on Saturday, November 7, beating Japan 2-1 at the Mohammed VI Football Complex in Rabat, Morocco. It is Nigeria's first title in the competition and, according to President Bola Tinubu's congratulatory statement, the first by an African team.

Awawu Bashiru opened the scoring in the 39th minute with a long-range effort that slipped through the Japanese goalkeeper's hands. Oluebube Umejiaku made it 2-0 in the 47th minute. Japan's Fuki Ito pulled one back in the 80th, and Nigeria held on, later hitting the crossbar from a corner.

The final was the first meeting between Nigeria and Japan at the FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup and the first time the two countries faced each other in a global final.

Nigeria's route to the title began with a 2-1 loss to Poland in their opening Group B match on October 18. The Flamingos then beat Puerto Rico, defending champions DPR Korea 3-1, Mexico and Venezuela to reach the semi-finals, where they defeated Brazil 3-1 on November 5 with goals from Queen Joseph and a Bashiru brace.

The turnaround is the defining feature of the campaign: a team that lost its first match went on to eliminate the defending champions and then win the final. Nigeria had previously won bronze at the 2022 edition, their best result before this tournament.

Tinubu's tribute underlined the national significance of the result. The Flamingos are the first African side to win the U-17 Women's World Cup, a landmark for Nigerian and African women's youth football.