NSC hails Flamingos’ historic U-17 World Cup victory

Nigeria’s U-17 women’s national team, the Flamingos, defeated Japan 2-1 on Saturday to win the 2026 FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup in Morocco. Goals for Nigeria were scored by Awawu Bashiru in the 39th minute and Oluebube Umejiaku in the 47th minute, while Fuki Ito scored for Japan in the 80th minute at the Mohammed VI Football Complex.

According to Punch Nigeria, the victory makes Nigeria the first African nation to win the trophy and the first African country to win FIFA U-17 World Cups in both the men's and women's categories. The Flamingos also became the first team in the competition's history to win the title after losing their opening group-stage match, a 2-1 defeat against Poland.

The National Sports Commission congratulated the team, describing the win as a defining moment for Nigerian and African women’s football.

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