The head coach of Flamingos, Bankole Olowookere, is confident his side can overcome United States of America (USA) when both sides clash in the quarter-finals of the U-17 Women’s World Cup in India.
After losing their first group stage game against Germany, the Flamingos won their remaining two games, beating New Zealand 4-0 and Chile 2-1 to set up the last eight epic battle against the Americans, who topped Group A with seven points
The match is scheduled for the DY Patil Stadium today.
“As a coach, I have achieved getting to the quarter-finals of the World Cup, but as Nigeria, we have not reached the final journey,” Olowookere stated.
“The best we have ever gotten at the U-17 Women’s World Cup is the quarter-final stage, I’m here to create a lot of upsets and set new records.
“We need to work hard to get to the semi-final and set a new record for the U-17 team.”
He added, “We respect the USA team, they are a superpower in female football. I am watching them closely, they play well and score many goals. I have to be careful about playing them.
“I am going for the win, but I have to look at our loopholes and try to correct some of the things we are not doing right. By the time we are done with all these, we have what it takes to defeat the USA.”
Midfielder Opeyemi Ajakaye, who scooped back-to-back Player of The Match awards versus New Zealand and Chile, said, “I’m so excited and very happy winning the Player of The Match award again against Chile.
“We are coming out fully against the USA team, we are going to give a 100 per cent performance against them. We are not scared to play against them.”