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International Football

DALUNG SALUTES FALCONETS’ QUALIFICATION

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Nigeria’s Youth and Sports Minister, Solomon Dalung has described Nigeria’s Falconets’ last minute draw against China as superlative.

The Falconets scored a late minute equalizer through Rasheedat Ajibade to give Nigeria a quarter final ticket in the ongoing FIFA Women’s U-20 Women’s World Cup in France.

Dalung said the victory was a reflection of their determination, team spirit and hard work which earned the team a deserved quarter final ticket.

“Let me once again congratulate you on behalf of His Excellency President Muhammadu Buhari and the good people of Nigeria. It was a hard fought qualification and you worked so hard to earn this ticket. I had no doubt in my mind that you were going to scale through.”

Dalung reiterated that having watched the team during their preparation for the tournament and against Haiti, he had no doubt that the team was going to get the needed result to scale the hurdle.

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“I am so excited and I know that millions of Nigerians are also happy with the result.”

Dalung commended the girls for their resilience in throwing everything at the Chinese who eventually succumbed to the pressure from the Falconets with the last touch of the highly explosive game.

He assured the team of immediate payment of the $10,000 he promised the team for booking a quarter final ticket.

The Minister urged the girls to continue their quest to win the FIFA U-20 women World Cup in love, team spirit and hard work when they face Spain.

“I hope that you will be motivated by the support, prayers and goodwill which you’re   receiving from Nigerians.”

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He promised his unflinching support for the team and he charged them to double their effort in their next game.

“Hard work is the only sure way to success. To stand a chance of returning home with the trophy, you must train and work harder.

“Having watched the team play, I’m convinced that you can go as far as the final,” Dalung stated.

Kunle Solaja is the author of landmark books on sports and journalism as well as being a multiple award-winning journalist and editor of long standing. He is easily Nigeria’s foremost soccer diarist and Africa's most capped FIFA World Cup journalist, having attended all FIFA World Cup finals from Italia ’90 to Qatar 2022. He was honoured at the Qatar 2022 World Cup by FIFA and AIPS.

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