Japan U-17 women’s national team coach, Sadayoshi Shirai, has explained why Nigeria defeated his team 2-1 in the final of the FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup encounter.
Shirai watched as two goals from Oluebube Umejiaku and Awawu Bashiru ensured Nigeria defeated Japan.
Fuki Ito did score a late goal for Japan against the Flamingos during the encounter in Morocco.
Speaking at his post-match interview, Shirai admitted that Japan lost the final because they failed to score earlier against Nigeria.
"I believe that if we had managed to score earlier, we might have had a better chance of winning the match," Shirai told FIFA.
Shirai's side had defeated North Korea to qualify for the final, while Nigeria defeated Brazil.
FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup: Why Nigeria beat us in final - Japan coach Shirai