The Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) has blamed poor finishing, hard luck and dodgy officiating for the exit of the Nigeria U20 side, Falconets at the FIFA U20 Women’s World Cup in Costa Rica.
The girls fell to a 2-0 loss to the Netherlands in their quarter-final match in Alajuela.
The NFF in a statement said the Costa Rican official, Marianela Araya failed to award a penalty kick when Flourish Sabastine was cynically stopped in the Dutch’s box in the 7th minute.
In the second minute of added time, a Dutch defender handled the ball in the box as Nigeria poured forward. But after consulting the Video Assistant Referee, Araya overturned her own decision to award a penalty kick.
The head coach, Chris Danjuma equally expressed his reservation at the failure of the coach to award the penalties.
Speaking after the game, Danjuma said “If the penalty had been given, I was sure the game would have gone into extra time.
He, however, hailed the girls for expressing themselves well during the tournament while projecting that they will graduate to the senior team in the future.
“It was great seeing the players from our home league stand against the other players from across the world. We have a lot to offer. This is football as when your opponents capitalise on your mistakes, they punish you for that. We had our chances and failed to take them. With these players, the future of the senior team is secured,” he said.
In the same vein, Falconets midfielder, Demehin Oluwatosin Blessing rued the team’s exit while appreciating the experience garnered.
“This is not how we wanted to end the competition but we have to accept, learn from it and grow. The experience and exposure were needed too. Super proud of the team. Thank you all for your good wishes and support, she tweeted.
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