WOMEN'S FOOTBALL
We’ll remain focused despite our away win over South Africa’s says Flamingos coach
As the minutes tick down to the return match of Nigeria and South Africa in the FIFA U17 World Cup qualifying duel, the head coach of the Nigerian team has declared that his playerswill not leave any room for a possible sucker punch on Saturday in Ikenne.
“We are very much aware of the fact that it is never over until it is over.
“It will be foolish to assume otherwise. Yes, we won 3-1 away in South Africa, but the contest is still alive. That is our mentality.
“That has been at the heart of our preparations since we returned from Pretoria.
“My assistants and I have been working on the team’s mental strength while drumming it into the ears of the girls that focus is key.
“No loss of concentration is allowed. Our objective is to win on Saturday and make sure of a place in the final qualifying round.”
Shakirat Moshood scored once, and Harmony Chidi netted a brace to earn Nigeria a 3-1 win in Pretoria last weekend – a seemingly comfortable position for a team hosting the return leg.
However, Cote d’Ivoire’s U17 girls showed that several things are still possible in football, when they hammered their Burundian counterparts 3-0 away after losing the first leg 3-1 in Abidjan, in these same qualifying series.
Olowookere added: “We learnt of the result of the Ivorians in the return leg against Burundi. It further underscored our insistence that the fixture is not over. There is still 90 minutes to be played, and we must play it with our hearts and maximum mental strength.”
Match officials for Saturday’s encounter, which will commence at 4 pm at the Remo Stars’ Stadium, arrived in Nigeria on Friday.
The winner of the fixture between Nigeria and South Africa will confront the winner of the fixture between Botswana and Algeria in the final qualification round, set for next month. Botswana won the first leg at home 2-1.
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Despite wintry conditions in Blida, on the outskirts of the Algerian capital, Algiers, Nigeria’s U17 girls dug their feet into the ground on Friday night.
They achieved a scoreless draw that qualified them for this year’s FIFA U17 Women’s World Cup finals.
Holding on to a 4-0 first-leg advantage, the 2002 bronze medallists adopted a calm and collected pattern that easily soaked up the expected pressure from the hosts and then relied on fast breaks to try and pull the trigger on their opponents.
Although they created better chances on the night, the Flamingos failed to make dominance in possession pay, but swiftly collected the ticket to Morocco on a 4-0 aggregate win.
The difference over two legs of the final round was a remarkable display in the opening leg by the Flamingos, during which a brace by Queen Joseph and one each by Zainab Raji and substitute Aisha Animashaun ensured a 4-0 win.
The Flamingos will now be one of Africa’s five representatives (including hosts Morocco) at this year’s FIFA U17 Women’s World Cup finals taking place from 17th October – 5th November. The final competition will entertain 24 teams for the very first time.
Since the FIFA U17 Women’s World Cup competition was launched in New Zealand in 2008, Nigeria have failed to make the finals only once – the 2018 tournament hosted by Uruguay.
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WOMEN'S FOOTBALL
Despite heavy first leg loss, Algeria hopeful of a turnaround in Nigeria’s Flamingos clash
The Algeria U17 women’s national team still hope for a possible turnaround in this Friday night clash with Nigeria’s Flamingos.
Algeria lost 4-0 in the first leg match in Ikenne last Saturday.
The Algerians completed their preparations on Thursday at the Sidi Moussa National Technical Centre, the eve of the return match against Nigeria.
The return match is scheduled for this Friday at 8 p.m. at the Mustapha Tchaker Stadium in Blida. Aggregate winners will pick a ticket to the FIFA U-17 Women’s 2025 World Cup.
According to sources in Algeria, all the players took part in the final session, during which coach Abdenour Mira finalised the tactical details for the make or mar encounter.
Despite the heavy defeat conceded in the first leg (4-0), the young Algerians approach this match with the desire to finish well and deliver an honourable performance against a formidable Nigerian team.
During the technical meeting held early in the afternoon at the FAF headquarters, in the presence of representatives of the two teams and the organisers, it was decided that Algeria will play in green, while Nigeria will wear white.
The match will be officiated by Cameroonian Aline Marie Noelle Guimbang, assisted by her compatriot Laurie Marcelle Tsafack Teikeu and Chadian Victorine Ngarassoum.
The fourth official will also be Cameroonian, Innoncentia Njang Ntangti.
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WOMEN'S FOOTBALL
Under possible cold weather in Blida, Nigeria’s Flamingos set to grab World Cup ticket
The weather is most likely to be cold, but Nigeria’s U17 girls, Flamingos, are set to continue a tradition of qualifying for every edition of the FIFA U17 Women’s World Cup, which has had eight editions, out of which the Flamingos featured in seven.
Only Japan, with 100 per cent attendance, has featured in more competitions than Nigeria’s Flamingos.
They look poised to feature again after a 4-0 defeat of Algeria in the first leg of the final qualifying series.
Apart from their opponents, Algeria, they have the expected cold weather to battle with at the Stade Mustapha Tchaker in Blida (outside Algiers), on Friday night.
Friday’s encounter against their Algerian counterparts is the final leg of a final qualifying round fixture, with the Flamingos, bronze-medallists from the 2022 finals in India and quarterfinalists from the last edition in the Dominican Republic, holding on to a 4-0 first-leg advantage.
The Federation Algerienne de Football (FAF) has scheduled the match to kick off at 8 pm, at a time when the winds will begin to blow in stronger from the Mediterranean Sea.
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