Awawu Bashiru: We Made Nigeria Proud
Awawu Bashiru has credited teamwork, discipline and adherence to the coaches’ instructions for Nigeria’s historic triumph, insisting that the Flamingos have made the country and millions of its supporters proud.
The forward enjoyed a remarkable finish to the tournament after spending limited time on the pitch in the opening matches. She played just 77 minutes between Nigeria’s opening defeat to Poland and their quarter-final against Venezuela before earning her first start in the semi-final against Brazil.
Bashiru scored twice in Nigeria’s 3-1 semi-final victory over Brazil before opening the scoring in the 2-1 final win against Japan.
She was delighted with her contribution to a campaign that delivered Nigeria’s first FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup title and Africa’s first-ever women’s FIFA World Cup trophy.
“I’m so happy, I’m so excited and I’m so grateful,” Bashiru told FIFA.
“The teamwork, instruction and listening to our coaches is why we got the goals and why we won the final. We are history-makers. We made Nigeria, and the millions of people there, proud.”
Looking ahead, Bashiru promised that Nigeria would seek to build on the breakthrough when they return to the competition.
“We can expect more from Nigeria. We are winning and we’ll bring the same energy, the same zing, at the next U-17 Women’s [World Cup],” she added.
