WOMEN'S FOOTBALL
Nigeria’s U17 Girls Gear Up for Crucial Match Against Algeria
Head Coach Bankole Olowookere said on Friday that Nigeria’s U17 girls, Flamingos, will aspire to win big in their FIFA U17 Women’s World Cup final qualifying round, first leg encounter against their Algerian counterparts on Saturday, to reduce the pressure ahead of next week’s return leg duel in North Africa.
“We have been working very hard to correct the lapses noticed in our last matches (against South Africa), and we believe we are in good form to achieve a handsome win here and then go all out in the second leg in Algeria,” Olowookere told thenff.com.
“I have always told the girls that no two matches are the same, so the fact that we beat South Africa home-and-away does not mean we will rest on our oars in this final round. We have to keep our feet on the ground, and keep working harder, bonding better and aiming higher. Our mission is to pick the FIFA World Cup ticket and go to Morocco to make Nigeria proud.”
Saturday’s encounter comes up at the Remo Stars Stadium, Ikenne-Remo, where the Flamingos turned back South Africa’s Bantwana 2-0 following a 3-1 hammering of the latter in Pretoria. It is also the same venue where the Super Falcons defeated their Algerian counterparts 2-0 in a friendly match in October last year.
Olowookere will unleash forward Harmony Chidi (now on 16 goals in FIFA World Cup qualifying matches, including the 13 she scored on the way to the finals in the Dominican Republic last year), midfielder Shakirat Moshood (who scored four goals at the last FIFA World Cup finals in the Dominican Republic and also opened the floodgates against South Africa in Pretoria) and Aishat Animashaun (who was among the scorers against the Bantwana last month) on the Algerians in order to achieve his objective.
The return is scheduled for the Stade Mustapha Tchaker in Blida (outside Algeria) on Friday, 25th April.
This year’s FIFA U17 Women’s World Cup finals will take place in Morocco, 17th October – 5th November.
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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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