Flamingos Set Three Historic World Records
Nigeria Become First African Champions, First To Win After Losing Opener And First African Nation To Claim Both U-17 World Titles
Nigeria’s Flamingos have set three remarkable records at the FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup Morocco 2026, following their historic triumph over Japan in Saturday’s final in Rabat.
The Flamingos became the first African nation to win the competition, the first team to lift the trophy after losing their opening match and the first African country to win both the boys’ and girls’ FIFA U-17 World Cups.
Akeem Busari’s side made history with a 2-1 victory over Japan, courtesy of goals from Awawu Bashiru and Oluebube Umejiaku, to deliver Africa’s first title in a FIFA women’s competition.
Nigeria’s journey to the summit was particularly remarkable after a 2-1 opening defeat to Poland in Group B. Rather than allow the setback to derail their campaign, the Flamingos recovered to win six consecutive matches and become world champions.
Their record-breaking run included a 4-1 group-stage victory over DPR Korea, which ended the Asian champions’ 18-match unbeaten run in regulation time at the competition, stretching back 2,900 days.
The triumph also completed a historic double for Nigeria in the FIFA U-17 age category. The country’s boys’ team have won the men’s competition five times, in 1985, 1993, 2007, 2013 and 2015, making Nigeria the first African nation to win the boys’ and girls’ titles.
Bashiru played a decisive role in the final stages of the campaign. Having featured for just 77 minutes, all as a substitute, before the semi-final against Brazil, she was promoted to the starting line-up and scored twice in Nigeria’s 3-1 victory.
She then opened the scoring against Japan in the final, while Umejiaku added the second goal shortly after half-time to put Nigeria firmly on course for the title.
