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

The victory also made Nigeria the first African country to win the tournament.

Awawu Bashiru and Oluebube Umejiaku scored the goals that gave the Nigerian team the historic victory.

Bashiru opened the scoring in the 39th minute after receiving a pass from Mary Dunstan. Her effort slipped through the hands of Japan goalkeeper Kadowaki and went into the net, giving Nigeria a 1-0 lead at half-time.

The Flamingos increased their advantage just two minutes into the second half when Umejiaku scored in the 47th minute.

The forward received a long pass from Esther Stephen, controlled the ball with her left foot and calmly lifted it over the Japanese goalkeeper to make it 2-0.

Japan reduced the deficit in the 80th minute through Fuki Ito, who scored after receiving a pass from Anri Ito.

The goal put Nigeria under pressure as Japan pushed hard for an equaliser in the closing stages.

However, the Flamingos defended well and created some chances of their own through Umejiaku and Kanyinsola Yusuf.

Japan also came close to scoring through Mashiro Yamaji, but Nigeria held on to their advantage until the final whistle.

Umejiaku was caught offside in the 94th minute before the referee ended the match after five minutes of added time.

Nigeria bounced back with a 2-0 victory over Puerto Rico before defeating defending champions North Korea 3-1. The victory ended North Korea’s 18-match unbeaten run in regulation time at the tournament.

The Flamingos continued their impressive performance with a 2-1 win over Mexico in the Round of 16. Umejiaku and Dunstan scored to send Nigeria into the quarter-finals.

In the quarter-finals, Azeezat Oduntan scored a late penalty in the 89th minute to give Nigeria a 1-0 victory over Venezuela.

The Nigerian youngsters then secured their first-ever place in the final after beating Brazil 3-1 in the semi-finals.

Queen Joseph opened the scoring in the 56th minute before Bashiru scored twice in the 71st and 80th minutes. Brazil scored a late consolation goal, but Nigeria held on to reach the final.

Before travelling to Morocco for the World Cup, the Flamingos had already won the 2026 WAFU-B U-17 Girls Cup in Côte d’Ivoire, where they recorded five victories from five matches, scoring 17 goals and conceding just once.

The team’s head coach, Akeem Busari, had earlier revealed that psychological support and renewed confidence helped the players recover from their opening defeat to Poland. Captain Harmony Chidi also described winning the trophy as a moment the players would never forget.

The historic triumph makes Nigeria the first African country to win the FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup, marking a major achievement for women’s football on the continent and further establishing the Flamingos as one of Africa’s leading youth teams.