The Flamingos Are World Champions
Abuja · Thursday 12 November 2026
Nigeria's Flamingos are world champions. They beat Japan 2-1 in the final of the FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup at the Mohammed VI Football Complex in Rabat, Morocco, to become the first African country to win the tournament.
Awawu Bashiru scored on 39 minutes and Oluebube Umejiaku doubled the lead shortly after the restart. Japan's Fuki Ito pulled one back on 80 minutes, and the Flamingos held on.
How they got there
| Stage | Result |
|---|---|
| Group | Lost 2-1 to Poland |
| Group | Beat Puerto Rico 2-0 |
| Group | Beat Korea DPR 3-1 |
| Round of 16 | Beat Mexico 2-1 |
| Quarter-final | Beat Venezuela |
| Semi-final | Beat Brazil 3-1 |
| Final | Beat Japan 2-1 |
No team in the competition's history had lost its opening game and gone on to win it.
Beaten in their first game, champions six games later. That is not luck. That is a team that learned during a tournament.
Credit where it is due
The coach, Busari Hakeem Ishola, took a group that started badly and made it better every game, which is the hardest thing to do in a short tournament. The players returned to Abuja on Monday and were received at the Villa and the National Assembly on Wednesday. The question now is the one Nigerian youth football always faces: how many of these girls are still playing, and still improving, in five years.
Reporting: Premium Times, Vanguard, Channels Television and Complete Sports.
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