By Ben Efe 7.11.2026
Nigeria on Saturday became the first African nation to win the FIFA U-17 Women Cup after they beat Japan 2-1 in the final played at the Mohammed VI Football Complex in Rabat, Morocco.
Awawu Bashiru opened the scoring for the confident Nigerian team in the 39th minute when the Japanese keeper Mikan Yamanaka spilled Bashiru’s long range strike into her own net.
After the break Oluebube Umejiaku added the second goal in the 47th minute with a delightful goal by chipping the ball over on rushing Yamanaka.
The Japanese women fought back and were rewarded in the 80th minute when Fuki Ito scored to ignite their spirit. However the Nigerian Flamingos held their ground and endured an anxious final ten minutes, and also refused to bulge in the added time.
Nigeria had lost their opening game of the tournament to Poland 2-1, but bounced back with victories over Puerto Rico and defending champions North Korea who they cut to size with a 3-1 win.
They completed a hat-trick of wins over South America teams knocking out Mexico 2-1 in the round of 16, Venezuela 1-0 in the quarter final and Brazil 3-1 in the semi-final.
Apart from the 2018 tournament, Nigeria has appeared in every edition of the FIFA U-17 Women World Cup. They reached four quarter-finals, and won the third place in 2022 in India.