Nigeria’s Oluebube Umejiaku has declared that Africa will continue to win major honours after helping the Flamingos make history by claiming their maiden FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup title.
The forward delivered another impressive performance in Saturday’s final against Japan, scoring what proved to be the winning goal in Nigeria’s 2-1 victory at the Mohammed VI Football Complex in Rabat, Morocco.
Umejiaku was subsequently named Player of the Match for the final and also received the Golden Ball award as the best player of the tournament, capping an outstanding individual campaign.
Speaking to FIFA after the final, the youngster expressed her excitement at ending Africa’s long wait for the title, insisting that the historic achievement would inspire more success for the continent.
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“I’m very happy because now we have broken the chain. 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,” she said.
Umejiaku also revealed that she remained prayerful throughout the tournament, particularly while waiting for her opportunity to feature in the starting lineup.
“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,” the ecstatic forward added.
Reflecting on Nigeria’s difficult start to the competition, Umejiaku explained how the opening 2-1 defeat to Poland served as a wake-up call for the team, with the players determined to approach every subsequent fixture as a final.
“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,” she said.
Umejiaku backed up her words with remarkable performances throughout the tournament, scoring or providing an assist in every match she featured in. She scored against Poland, North Korea, Mexico and Japan, while also providing assists against Puerto Rico and Brazil and winning the decisive penalty against Venezuela.
Her winning goal against Japan completed Nigeria’s remarkable journey, as the Flamingos recorded six consecutive victories after their opening defeat to become the first African nation to lift the U-17 Women’s World Cup trophy.
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