Nigeria’s Flamingos are in the final of the FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup for the first time. They beat Brazil 3-1 in the semi-final in Rabat on Wednesday night and they are also the first African team to get this far at this level. Nobody would have predicted it after their opening game.
The first half at the Mohammed VI Football Complex was goalless. Brazil came in with plenty of firepower, having scored 17 goals in their previous five games.
However, the Flamingos’ defence, which had conceded only four all tournament, held firm.
Then the game opened up. Queen Joseph put Nigeria ahead in the 56th minute.
Fifteen minutes later, Awawu Bashiru doubled the lead. Joseph’s pass found her, and she lofted the ball over the Brazilian goalkeeper. A VAR check confirmed the goal.
Bashiru wasn’t done. In the 80th minute, Oluebube Umejiaku slipped her through, and she finished calmly at the near post. At 3-0, the game was effectively over.
Brazil did pull one back in the 89th minute. Greise Kelly, who came in with three goals and five assists, finished from Yasmin Queiroz’s pass. Even so, it was too late to matter, and the final whistle sparked wild celebrations.
The road to Rabat wasn’t smooth. Nigeria lost their opening game 2-1 to Poland, and questions followed straight away. Nonetheless, the Flamingos bounced back with a 2-0 win over Puerto Rico, then beat two-time defending champions DPR Korea 3-1.
In the quarter-final, Azeezat Oduntan scored an 89th-minute penalty to edge Venezuela 1-0. That set up the Brazil clash. The form wasn’t a fluke, either. They arrived in Morocco as WAFU B U-17 champions, with five wins from five.
This is bigger than one result. The Flamingos finished third at the 2022 edition in India, and that had been their best showing until now. Reaching the final takes them past it.
Coach Akeem Busari deserves credit as well. His side lost its opener, regrouped, and then grew stronger with every round. As a result, a team that looked shaky in October is now 90 minutes from a world title.
The Flamingos will face Japan in the final. The Japanese reached it after a dramatic semi-final win over defending champions North Korea, so Nigeria should expect another tough test.
Still, the Flamingos have already done something no African side has done before. If they beat Japan, they will become Nigeria’s first-ever U-17 Women’s World Cup champions. Either way, this team has already written its name into the history books.
