Nigeria’s U-17 women’s national team head coach, Hakeem Busari, has explained the tactics that helped the Flamingos defeat Brazil 3-1 to reach their first-ever FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup final, according to a report by PUNCH Sports Extra on November 6, 2026. The tactician said blocking Brazil’s passing lines was central to Nigeria’s impressive performance in Wednesday’s semi-final encounter in Morocco.

Busari acknowledged the technical quality of the South Americans. However, he praised his players for showing courage and executing the tactical instructions effectively.

In his words: “Brazil really showed the stuff they have technically, but we tried to really block the view of their passing line, so we had to show character."

It should be noted that the Flamingos dominated the encounter. The Nigerians recorded 35 attempts at goal against Brazil’s seven. Meanwhile, their opponents managed just one shot on target.

Queen Joseph opened the scoring in the 56th minute. Awawu Bashiru then scored twice to give Nigeria a commanding 3-0 lead. Greise Kelly scored a late consolation for Brazil in the 89th minute.

The victory marked a remarkable turnaround for Nigeria. They began their campaign with a 2-1 defeat to Poland but subsequently defeated DPR Korea 3-1 in the group stage and Venezuela 1-0 in the quarter-final.

Busari has now shifted attention to Saturday’s final against Japan. He believes Nigeria’s previous encounter with DPR Korea could provide useful lessons. According to him, Japan’s approach of building from the back and using their full-backs offensively requires careful preparation.

The Nigerian tactician said his players must reproduce the same character and tactical discipline that helped them overcome Brazil. Meanwhile, despite celebrating the historic achievement, Busari insisted that winning the trophy remains the ultimate objective.

“We just really want to pick up the trophy. That would be the icing on the cake,” he said.