Nigeria stun Brazil to reach historic U-17 World Cup final

Nigeria’s Flamingos have reached the final of the FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup for the first time in history after defeating Brazil 3-1 in Wednesday’s semi-final in Morocco.

The victory also makes Nigeria the first African nation to reach the final of the competition, setting up a historic showdown with Japan on Saturday.

Queen Joseph opened the scoring before Awawu Bashiru netted twice to seal the emphatic victory for Akeem Busari’s side.

Joseph put Nigeria ahead with a close-range finish from four yards before Bashiru doubled the lead in the 71st minute with a lofted cross that sailed over the Brazilian goalkeeper into the net.

Bashiru completed her brace ten minutes from time with a well-placed finish at the near post, sending Nigerian players, officials and supporters into celebration.

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Greise Kelly scored Brazil’s consolation goal in the 89th minute, but the South Americans could not prevent the Flamingos from securing their first-ever victory over Brazil at the tournament.

The result marks a major milestone for Nigeria, whose previous best performance at the competition was a third-place finish in 2022.

The Flamingos will now face Japan in Saturday’s final after the Asian side defeated tournament favourites Korea DPR in the other semi-final.

Nigeria will be seeking to become the first African country to win the FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup.