Photo: Oluebube Umejiaku holding her Golden Ball and Player of the Match awards — FIFA Women's World Cup / Instagram, via BellaNaija
FLAMINGOS WATCH — Nigeria's Golden Ball winner Oluebube Umejiaku has given fans a close-up look at the biggest individual prize in youth women's football, as a video of the 16-year-old with her adidas Golden Ball award circulated on Monday.
Umejiaku won the Golden Ball as the best player of the 2026 FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup in Morocco, where Nigeria beat Japan 2-1 in Saturday's final in Rabat to become the first African team ever to win the tournament.
The Heartland Queens forward, who wears Nigeria's number 17, started the tournament on the bench and finished it as its outstanding player — four goals and two assists in seven matches, including the winning goal in the final.
- Golden Ball: best player of the tournament — Nigeria's only tournament-wide individual award
- Umejiaku also won Player of the Match in the final and in the round of 16 against Mexico
- Her final goal came in the 47th minute, lifting Esther Stephen's long pass over Japan's goalkeeper
How Umejiaku decided the World Cup final
Nigeria led through Awawu Bashiru's 39th-minute opener, and Umejiaku doubled the lead two minutes after half-time, controlling a long pass from Esther Stephen and lifting the ball over goalkeeper Kou Kadowaki — the goal that ultimately won the World Cup, as Japan pulled one back but could not find an equaliser.
The Golden Ball was not Nigeria's only recognition on the night in individual match awards — five Flamingos shared six Player of the Match prizes across the tournament — but the tournament-wide honours list confirms the scale of her achievement: the Golden Boot went to the USA's Maddie DiMaria (12 goals), the Silver Ball to North Korea's Yu Jong-hyang and the Golden Glove to North Korea's Kim Son-gyong.
What happens next
The Flamingos arrived home to Abuja on Monday and paraded the trophy through the capital. A presidential reception, initially expected on Monday, has been moved to a later date, and calls are growing for the team to receive rewards matching those given to the Super Falcons after their 2025 WAFCON triumph. FLAMINGOS WATCH continues on NTN.
Credit: BellaNaija, November 9, 2026; The Sun Nigeria full awards list, November 8, 2026; FIFA tournament reporting.
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