Nigeria’s Flamingos beat Japan 2-1 to win historic U-17 Women’s World Cup title

The Nigerian national under-17 women’s football team, known as the Flamingos, have emerged champions of the 2026 FIFA Women’s Under-17 World Cup after beating their rivals, Japan, with a scoreline of 2-1 in Saturday’s final match held in Morocco.

The victory was achieved by the Nigerian team on Pitch 3 of the Mohammed VI Football Complex, making them the first ever team in the country’s history to emerge champions of the women’s U-17 world cup.

Awawu Bashiru opened the scoring for Nigeria in the 39th minute with a long-range effort that slipped through the hands of Japan’s goalkeeper and gave the Flamingos a crucial first-half advantage.

Nigeria returned from the break with renewed determination and doubled their lead just two minutes into the second half. Oluebube Umejiaku found the back of the net in the 47th minute to put the Nigerian team firmly in control of the encounter.

Japan, however, refused to give up and pulled a goal back in the 80th minute through Fuki Ito, setting up a tense finish to the final.

The Japanese side mounted pressure in search of an equaliser, but the Flamingos remained resolute and defended their advantage until the final whistle.

Nigeria also came close to extending the lead in the closing stages, but an effort from a corner kick struck the crossbar.

The 2–1 victory sealed Nigeria’s first-ever FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup title, marking a historic milestone for the Flamingos and Nigerian women’s football.

The triumph also crowns an impressive campaign for the team, who reached the final for the first time after defeating Brazil 3–1 in the semi-finals.