Poland defeat inspired World Cup win – Flamingos captain

Flamingos captain, Harmony Chidi, has attributed Nigeria’s historic triumph at the 2026 FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup to faith, hard work and team unity, revealing how the players rallied together after their opening defeat to Poland to win the title, PUNCH Sports Extra reports.

Nigeria defeated Japan 2-1 in Saturday’s final at the Mohammed VI Football Academy in Rabat, Morocco, becoming the first African country to win the FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup and the first to claim a FIFA women’s world title at any level.

The Flamingos recovered from their opening loss to Poland to win their remaining six matches, including a group-stage victory over defending champions DPR Korea, on their way to the historic triumph.

In the final, Nigeria scored through Awawu Bashiru and Oluebube Umejiaku, whose goal two minutes into the second half proved decisive.

Umejiaku’s strike was her fourth of the tournament and helped earn her the Golden Ball award, while Japan’s late response in the 80th minute was insufficient to prevent Nigeria from lifting the trophy.

Japan, appearing in their fourth final, settled for silver, while DPR Korea claimed bronze after thrashing Brazil 6-0 in the third-place match.

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Reflecting on the team’s journey, the captain told Brila Media that the players remained determined to win the tournament despite the disappointment of losing their opening fixture.

“Before the tournament, all of us were in high spirits and fired up to win the title. However, losing the first game, everyone was down but our coach prepped us to move on while we also encouraged one another. All we had to do was prove a point in the second game.

“What really helped us was God, hard work and togetherness, regardless of who was playing or not,” she said.

The skipper also described the triumph as the beginning of a journey for the young players, insisting that they must continue working hard to achieve greater success with the national team and their respective clubs.

“This is just a starting point. I will not say we have arrived. As young players, this is good and we have to keep working so that we can keep representing the country and winning trophies even for our individual clubs,” she added.

Before Saturday’s triumph, Nigeria’s best performance at the competition was a third-place finish at the 2022 edition in India, also under coach Bankole Olowookere.