Nigeria’s Flamingos forward, Oluebube Umejiaku, has explained how the team recovered from their opening defeat to Poland to win the 2026 FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup in Morocco.
Nigeria began their campaign with a 2-1 loss to Poland, despite Umejiaku scoring as a substitute. However, the team bounced back, treating every subsequent fixture as a final on their way to winning the competition.
The Flamingos defeated DPR Korea, Mexico and other opponents before overcoming Japan 2-1 in Saturday’s final to claim the trophy.
Umejiaku, who started the tournament on the bench, became one of Nigeria’s standout performers, scoring crucial goals, including in the final, and winning the Golden Ball award as the tournament’s best player.
Speaking to FIFA.com after Nigeria’s historic triumph, she said the players were determined to change their fortunes following the opening loss to Poland.
“When we lost the first game against Poland, everybody said we needed to wake up because we didn’t come here to look at anybody’s face and we have to take every game as a final. We don’t downgrade anything; we play and we put all our best into every game.”
Umejiaku also reflected on her journey from a substitute to one of the tournament’s most influential players, saying she remained hopeful of getting an opportunity to start.
“Every time I went to training and every time I slept, I told God that I’m praying for all the people that are starting. But when I wanted to start, I just told God that it is my time,” she said.
Another key contributor to Nigeria’s triumph was Awawu Bashiru, who initially had limited playing time under head coach Akeem Busari.
Bashiru played just 77 minutes between the opening match and the quarter-final against Venezuela before earning her first start against Brazil. She scored twice in that encounter and also opened the scoring in the final against Japan.
Reflecting on the team’s achievement, Bashiru credited their success to teamwork and the technical crew’s instructions.
“I’m so happy, I’m so excited and I’m so grateful,” she said. “The teamwork, instruction and listening to our coaches is why we got the goals and why we won the final. We are history-makers. We made Nigeria, and the millions of people there, proud.”
Busari, meanwhile, explained that his decisions to change the starting line-up were based on the players’ attitude, character and commitment rather than reputation.
“No matter how good you are, I’m a coach that plays on character,” Busari said of making those key changes. “It’s all about mindset, attitude and merit; if they’re there, you get your playing time. If they’re not there, you’re waiting to come in. As a coach, we want everyone to wire up and play together.”
Nigeria’s victory made the country the first African nation to win the FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup and the first from the continent to claim a women’s FIFA tournament title.
Umejiaku expressed confidence that the triumph would mark the beginning of more success for Nigerian and African women’s football.
“I’m very happy because now we have broken the chain,” Umejiaku added. “In Africa we always win – that’s a promise. We’ve won, and now we’ll be winning and winning, that’s just it. We thank God for everything.”
Bashiru also promised that Nigeria would return with the same determination at the next edition of the competition.
“We can expect more from Nigeria,” Bashiru added. “We are winning and we’ll bring the same energy, the same zing, at the next U-17 Women’s [World Cup].”
Busari described the triumph as a major boost for African football, saying it demonstrated the continent’s growing competitiveness at youth level.
“This is a turnaround for Africa,” Busari concluded. “In terms of youth-age football, it’s improving and here we could really come and compete. Being a champion is going to go a long way to really motivate us, and we are sending a signal, a message to the world that Africa is really coming.”
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