FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup: Nigeria make history as first African finalists

Nigeria’s Flamingos have made history by becoming the first African nation to reach the final of the FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup following an impressive 3-1 victory over Brazil in Wednesday’s semi-final in Morocco.

The Nigerian side produced a strong second-half performance to secure their place in the final, with Queen Joseph opening the scoring before Awawu Bashiru netted twice to complete the victory.

After a goalless first half, Queen Joseph broke the deadlock in the 56th minute, capitalising on a rebound after Oluwakemi Adegbuyi’s effort was blocked.

Awawu Bashiru doubled Nigeria’s advantage in the 71st minute with a fine finish over the Brazilian goalkeeper before completing her brace in the 80th minute following a well-worked team move.

Brazil pulled one back through Greise Kelly in the 89th minute, but the Flamingos held on to secure a historic 3-1 victory.

The achievement marks a major milestone for Nigerian women’s youth football. Although Nigeria previously reached the semi-finals in 2022 in India, where they defeated Germany on penalties to claim bronze, this is the first time the country has progressed to the final.

Nigeria’s achievement also represents a historic moment for Africa. Ghana previously reached the semi-finals in 2012, becoming the first African nation to win a medal at the competition after securing bronze. Nigeria followed with another bronze-medal finish in 2022. However, no African team had reached the final until now.

The Flamingos will now face Japan in the final after the Asian side defeated defending champions DPR Korea 4-1 on penalties following a 1-1 draw in their semi-final encounter.

Nigeria will be aiming to go one step further and become the first African nation to lift the FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup trophy when the two sides meet in the final.