Queen Joseph says Nigeria’s Flamingos have drawn inspiration from Argentina’s 2022 World Cup triumph as they prepare to face Japan in their first FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup final.
Speaking to FIFA after Nigeria’s 3–1 semi-final victory over Brazil, Joseph said Argentina’s recovery from an opening defeat offered encouragement to a Nigerian side whose own tournament began with a loss to Poland.
“We took the Argentina spirit from the [2022] World Cup after losing our first game,” Joseph told FIFA.
The forward said the Flamingos hoped to complete a similar recovery by winning the trophy and regarded their place in the final as an opportunity to represent Africa.
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Coach Akeem Busari also outlined his thinking for the Japan encounter. In his interview with FIFA, he identified Nigeria’s 3–1 group-stage victory over DPR Korea as a reference for the final, pointing to similarities in the Asian teams’ passing, build-up play and use of attacking full-backs.
Nigeria secured their final place with three second-half goals against Brazil on Wednesday. Joseph opened the scoring in the 56th minute before Awawu Bashiru struck twice, in the 71st and 80th minutes. Greise Kelly’s late header reduced the deficit.
Bashiru, making her first start of the tournament, collected the player-of-the-match award. She told FIFA she was delighted to have justified her selection and credited her teammates and coach.
The semi-final gave Nigeria a fifth consecutive victory since their 2–1 opening defeat to Poland. They recovered with a 2–0 win over Puerto Rico before beating defending champions DPR Korea to advance from the group.
Victories over Mexico and Venezuela followed in the knockout rounds. Captain Azeezat Oduntan’s 89th-minute penalty settled the quarter-final against Venezuela, keeping Nigeria on course for the Brazil encounter.
That progression has already taken the Flamingos beyond their previous best finish, the bronze medal they won in India in 2022. Saturday’s final gives them the chance to add a first title at this level.
Japan reached the decider through a dramatic recovery against DPR Korea. Trailing to Ri Ui-gyong’s 52nd-minute goal, they equalised through a Won Sol-gyong own goal in the fifth minute of added time.
Japan then won the shootout 4–1, with Asuka Tanaka converting the decisive penalty to secure their first final appearance since 2016.
Nigeria and Japan meet on Saturday, 7 November, after taking contrasting routes through their semi-finals. For Joseph and her teammates, one match remains in their attempt to turn an opening defeat into a title-winning campaign.
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