Japan U-17 women’s national team coach, Sadayoshi Shirai, shared why his team lost 2-1 to Nigeria’s Flamingos in the final of the 2026 FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup held in Morocco.
Shirai mentioned that his team could have won if they had scored earlier against Nigeria. Nigeria made history by becoming the first African country to win the title, thanks to goals from Oluebube Umejiaku and Awawu Bashiru. Fuki Ito scored a late goal for Japan.
In his post-match interview, reported by FIFA on Saturday, Shirai praised Nigeria’s strength. He noted their speed and physical power caused issues for his players.
“First of all, I have to say that Nigeria were a very strong team. We understood their strengths, but there were moments when they managed to get in behind our defence. Even so, I think our players fought incredibly hard until the very end, doing everything they could to cope with Nigeria’s speed and physical power.
“I also believe that if we had managed to score earlier, we might have had a better chance of winning the match. I want them [Japan’s players] to be proud of themselves. The way they fought until the very end of this World Cup will have inspired many people, and I hope they can take confidence from that,” Shirai said.
Japan reached the final by defeating North Korea in the semi-finals. Meanwhile, Nigeria secured their place in the final by beating Brazil.
The Flamingos ultimately defeated Japan to lift the U-17 Women’s World Cup trophy.
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