Head Coach Bankole Olowookere has no doubts that Nigeria’s U17 girls, Flamingos, will have another great day in the office when they take on debutants Ecuador on Saturday in their second match of Group A at the ongoing FIFA U17 Women’s World Cup finals in the Dominican Republic.
“Our tournament strategy is to focus on the next match, take it one match at a time. We need not look farther than the next match, and now, we have Ecuador in our sights. The Ecuadorians have shown, with their defeat of the host nation, that they may be debutants but not a team to be taken for granted.
“The players have recovered well from their opening match victory over New Zealand and we are ready for Ecuador. We know that three points in that game will all but get us into the knock-out stage. It is an opportunity we will not allow to slip out of our hands.”
The win on Wednesday took Nigeria to the top of the Group A table, where they still perch courtesy of goals advantage over the Ecuadorians, who earned a 2-0 win over the Dominican Republic.
Shakirat Moshood, Taiwo Adegoke, Faridat Abdulwahab and captain Taiwo Afolabi (Player of the Match) scored the goals that condemned the girls from Down Under to a huge defeat, and will be expected to again fire on all cylinders against the South Americans.
Top scorer in the qualifying campaign with 13 goals, forward Harmony Chidi will definitely fight harder to open her goal account at the finals. Her efforts were blocked time and again by the New Zealanders, and the clash with Ecuador presents another chance to show the world what she is capable of.
Saturday’s match will kick off at 4pm Dominican Republic time (9pm Nigeria), and will take place at the same CFC Stadium where the Flamingos tore apart the New Zealanders.