Former Delta Queens and Rivers Angels head coach, Tosan Blankson, has expressed confidence that Nigeria’s U-17 women’s national team, the Flamingos, will defeat Japan to win their maiden FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup title.

The Flamingos will face Japan in Saturday’s final, November 7, at Pitch 3 of the Mohammed VI Football Complex in Rabat, Morocco, as they seek to crown their impressive campaign with a historic triumph.

Japan will be making their fourth appearance in the final, having previously reached the showpiece in 2010, 2014 and 2016. They won the title in 2014 during their second final appearance.

Nigeria, meanwhile, are appearing in their first-ever final, with their previous best performance being a third-place finish at the 2022 edition in India, where Spain emerged champions.

Despite the difference in final experience between both teams, Blankson believes the Flamingos have what it takes to overcome Japan and lift the trophy.

“Before the team (Flamingos) departed for Morocco for the tournament, I predicted they will reach the final,” Blankson, a former left-back who played for Rangers and Heartland, told Completesports.com on Friday morning.

“They have proved me right. And now that they are in the final, I don’t see Japan stopping them. I see them coming home with the trophy. This, I’m sure of.”

Explaining the reasons behind his confidence, Blankson praised the quality and technical leadership of Flamingos head coach Akeem Busari, describing him as an experienced grassroots football developer with an eye for talent.

“Coach (Akeem) Busari is a thorough grassroots football coach. He has eyes for quality talents, highly disciplined, focused and hard working.

“These, he has brought into the team. Looking at the team, you’ll notice a high level of quality and potential in the girls and this reflects in the way they play,” Blankson said.

The Flamingos booked their place in the final with an impressive 3-1 victory over Brazil in the semi-finals, while Japan edged past the Democratic People's Republic of Korea 4-1 on penalties after a 1-1 draw at regulation time.

Nigeria will now look to turn their historic qualification into a maiden world title when they take on the three-time finalists on Saturday.