The Flamingos have defeated Japan in the final of the FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup to win the title in Rabat, Morocco, becoming the first African country to achieve the feat in history.
The girls have also reached their first-ever final and are now making history by winning the title for the first time, making Nigeria the first African country to do so.
The Flamingos took a 1-0 lead into half-time against Japan, thanks to A. Bashiru’s 39th-minute goal. The Flamingos created two big chances and recorded eight shots compared to Japan’s six, although the Japanese side enjoyed 53 per cent possession against Nigeria’s 47 per cent. Shortly after the restart, O. Umejiaku doubled Nigeria’s lead in the 47th minute to make it 2-0. In the 80th minute, Japan scored to reduce the score to 2-1. The game ended 2-1 at full-time.
It was a difficult start for the young girls, who lost their first group-stage game to Poland but have since gone on to win all six of their games leading up to the final.
The five-time African champions’ best performance at the World Cup came in 2022, when they finished with bronze. It was still the highest achievement by any African country, with Ghana reaching the same feat in 2012
