Nigeria U-17 Women’s National Team, the Flamingos, have made history by becoming the first African team to reach the final of the FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup following their remarkable progression at the 2026 edition in Morocco.
The Nigerian Flamingos achieved the historic milestone after recording five victories in six matches, demonstrating resilience, determination and impressive attacking quality throughout their campaign.
The Flamingos began their tournament with a 2–1 defeat to Poland before responding with a 2–0 victory over Puerto Rico in their second group fixture. Oluwakemi Adegbuyi and Precious Oscar were on target as Nigeria secured their first victory of the competition.
Nigeria subsequently recorded an impressive 3–1 victory over defending champions Korea DPR in their final group-stage encounter. Oluwakemi Adegbuyi and Oluebube Umejiaku scored their second goals of the tournament, while Kanyinsola Yusuf registered her first goal for the team, helping the Flamingos finish second in Group B with six points.
Their impressive performances continued into the knockout stage, where Nigeria defeated Mexico 2–1 in the Round of 16. Oluebube Umejiaku scored her third goal of the tournament before Mary Dunstan registered her first-ever goal at the global competition to secure Nigeria’s progression into the quarter-finals.
The Flamingos subsequently overcame Venezuela in a hard-fought quarter-final encounter, with captain Azeezat Oduntan converting a penalty won by Oluebube Umejiaku to secure a narrow victory and a place in the semi-finals.
Nigeria delivered another outstanding performance against Brazil, recording a dominant 3–0 victory to secure their historic qualification for the final.
Queen Joseph opened the scoring in the second half before Awawu Bashiru delivered an exceptional performance, scoring twice to complete the victory and earn Player of the Match recognition in her first start of the tournament.
The result confirmed Nigeria’s first-ever appearance in the final of the FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup and established the Flamingos as the first African team to achieve the feat.
With five victories from six matches, the Nigerian youngsters have continued to demonstrate their quality and determination on the global stage, making the 2026 campaign a historic moment for Nigerian and African women’s football.
The Flamingos will now prepare for their first-ever final, determined to finish their incredible journey in Morocco with the trophy. Japan stands in their way on 7th November, 2026.
