U-17 Women’s World Cup: How We Overcame the Opening Defeat to Win the Title — Oluebube

After opening with a 2-1 defeat to Poland, Nigeria’s Flamingos treated every subsequent match as a final and won the 2026 FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup in Morocco, beating Japan 2-1 in the final. Oluebube Umejiaku, who scored against Poland and in the final, earned the tournament’s Golden Ball. Awawu Bashiru, given her first start against Brazil after limited playing time, scored twice in that match and opened the scoring in the final. Coach Akeem Busari said his lineup decisions were based on attitude, character and merit; Nigeria became the first African nation to win the competition and a women’s FIFA tournament.