Nigeria’s Flamingos who bounced back from their 2-1 loss in the opening Group B match against Germany are set to soar over whipping girls, Chile in their last group match coming up this afternoon inside the Kalinga stadium Bhubaneswar in India.
Despite the opening day loss, Flamingos were in imperious form in the second group match as they thrashed hapless New Zealand 4-0 last Friday to stand a good chance of progressing in this year’s FIFA U-17 World Cup.
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President of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF), Alhaji Ibrahim Musa Gusau is confident that the Flamingos will reach the quarter-finals,
Both teams have three points each but Africa’s best team boasts superior goals tally and will qualify if the game ends in a stalemate.
“Even though we need a draw to qualify, I have told the technical crew and the players to work hard for a win in order to sustain their winning mentality. That element is crucial for a team at this point in the tournament. Winning mentality ensures that you want to go for it no matter the situation or condition.
“They did well to get the goals against New Zealand but we need these three points as well so that the message can go out to our quarter-final opponents that we mean serious business.”
The 4-0 win over New Zealand took the Flamingos to three points and plus three goals advantage, while their 6-0 thumping by group leaders Germany meant the Chileans remained on three points and with minus four goals.
Head Coach Bankole Olowookere has assured that his girls will not take their feet off the pedal against the South Americans.
“We are ready for another three points. We had a good win over New Zealand but I’m not happy we lost so many scoring chances. We cannot afford to do that against Chile.
“We are very focused because nothing has been won yet. It is another game in which we must give our very best and ensure we get a win,” he said.
