First Lady celebrates Flamingos after historic U-17 World Cup title win

Nigeria defeated Japan 2-1 on Saturday, November 7, at the Mohammed VI Football Complex in Morocco to win the 2026 FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup. This victory makes the Flamingos the first African nation to win the tournament since its inception in 2008. Awawu Bashiru opened the scoring in the 39th minute following a pass from Mary Dunstan, and Oluebube Umejiaku doubled the lead in the 47th minute after receiving a long pass from Esther Stephen.

Fuki Ito scored for Japan in the 80th minute, but the Nigerian defense maintained the lead to secure the title.

Oluebube Umejiaku won the tournament's Golden Ball as the best player. Following the win, Mrs. Tinubu stated that the victory reflects the team's resilience and commitment, according to Premium Times. Additionally, Peter Obi congratulated the team via his X handle, praising their talent, hard work, and dedication for bringing pride to the country, as reported by Punch and Punch Nigeria.

Brief written by urgent.news from Premium Times, 3News, Punch, Punch Nigeria — 4 reports on this story. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.