2026 U-17 WWC: Motsepe hails Flamingos’ historic achievement

Nigeria’s Under-17 female football team, the Flamingos, reached their first FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup final after defeating Brazil 3-1 in their semi-final match in Morocco on Wednesday. After a goalless first half, Queen Joseph opened the scoring in the 56th minute following an assist from Oluwakemi Adegubyi. Awawu Bashiru then scored twice, first in the 71st minute after a pass from Joseph and again nine minutes later via a delivery from Oluebube Umejiaku.

Brazil scored a late consolation goal in the 89th minute through Greise Kelly, assisted by Yasmin Queiroz.

According to Ripples Nigeria, the Flamingos' victory follows a campaign that began with a 2-1 loss to Poland, followed by a 2-0 win over Puerto Rico featuring goals from Adegubyi and Precious Oscar. Daily Post Nigeria reports that Nigeria is the second nation since 2014 to recover from an opening defeat to reach the final. The Flamingos will face Japan, who defeated defending champions North Korea, in the final.

Flamingos head coach Akeem Busari described the progress as a great achievement that serves as a plus for the country and Nigerian football. Daily Post Nigeria notes that this marks the first time an African country will play in the competition's final, while Premium Times states the achievement is significant for both Nigerian and African football.

Brief written by urgent.news from Premium Times, Ripples Nigeria, Daily Post Nigeria — 3 reports on this story. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.