Nigeria battle New Zealand in must win tie, Gusau motivates players

AFN president Ibrahim Shehu Gusau. Photo by AFN

Nigeria’S U-17 women’s national team, The Flamingos, will face New Zealand today with a qualification spot on the line. Both teams lost their opening matches and sit at the bottom of Group B with no point each.

While Chile trashed New Zealand 3-1 in their opening game to top the group with three points and +2 goals advantage, Germany is second with three points and +1 goal advantage following their victory against Nigeria on Tuesday. The Flamingos of Nigeria are third on the log, with New Zealand sitting on the bottom.

The Flamingos must beat New Zealand this afternoon to guarantee their chances of advancing.

Meanwhile, head coach of The Flamingos, Bankole Olowookere, has assured that the girls will qualify for the next round despite their opening 2-1 defeat.

Olowookere attributed the team’s loss to lack of concentration, saying the girls had learnt their lessons and are ready to take on New Zealand.

“We lost concentration against Germany, and we were forced to play their pattern. Although the Germans were forcing themselves on us, If we had maintained our style of play, we would have won,” he said.

The President of Nigeria Football Federation (NFF), Ibrahim Gusau, has urged the players to do the nation proud by beating New Zealand today to brighten their chances of advancing to the next round of the championship.

The match will kick off by noon at Pandit Jawaharial Nehru stadium in Goa.

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