Nigeria Beat Japan 2–1 to Win First U-17 Women’s World Cup
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Updates
- President Bola Tinubu congratulated the Flamingos on their first U-17 Women’s World Cup title and praised their courage, discipline and teamwork.
- Tinubu singled out goalscorers Awawu Bashiru and Oluebube Umejiaku, and also congratulated the coaches, Nigeria Football Federation and National Sports Commission.
- Tinubu reaffirmed his administration’s commitment to grassroots sport and opportunities for young Nigerians, particularly girls.
Original report
Nigeria won the FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup for the first time on Saturday, beating Japan 2–1 at Complexe Mohammed VI in Rabat, Morocco. The Nigerian football federation said the victory made Nigeria the first African country to win the competition and the first African women’s national team to lift a FIFA World Cup trophy. Awawu Bashiru put Nigeria ahead in the 39th minute with a long-range shot that slipped through goalkeeper Kou Kadowaki’s hands. It was Bashiru’s third goal of the tournament, following her two goals against Brazil in the semifinal. Oluebube Umejiaku doubled the lead in the 47th minute. Fuki Ito scored for Japan in the 80th minute, but Nigeria held its advantage to the end. NFF Acting General Secretary Emmanuel Ikpeme said: “This was an awesome performance by the girls all through.” He said Nigeria had narrowly lost its opening match to Poland before winning its next six matches to take the title. Hakeem Busari coached the winning side. Nigeria had beaten Brazil in the semifinal three days earlier, with Queen Joseph scoring the opening goal. The final victory also made Nigeria the first African country to win both the boys’ and girls’ FIFA U-17 World Cups. Its boys’ teams previously won the trophy in 1985, 1993, 2007, 2013 and 2015.
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