Nigeria’s U-17 girls, the Flamingos, will aim for maximum points when they face their counterparts from New Zealand in what is actually the first match of this year’s FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup finals in the Dominican Republic.
Although the game between the host nation, the Dominican Republic, and Ecuador (the other fixture in Group A) is billed as the opening match, Nigeria and New Zealand will clash at the CFC Stadium in Santiago de los Caballeros from 4 PM local time (9 PM in Nigeria), while the host nation and Ecuador will square off at 9 PM local time (2 AM Thursday in Nigeria).
Bronze medalists in the last edition of the competition in India, the Flamingos are aiming to go further this time, with Head Coach Bankole Olowookere insisting that he has the resources to overcome their opponents.
“I have confidence in the girls to deliver the goods at this competition. We have come well-prepared to do even better than we did in India. The Nigeria Football Federation has done everything to prepare the team well, with a two-week final camp here in the Dominican Republic.
“We do not underestimate any of our opponents. However, we will take it one match at a time and give our best in each game in order to go all the way.”
The Flamingos have previously missed participating in only one edition of the FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup finals—the 2018 finals in Uruguay.
In the qualifying campaign for this year’s finals, the Nigerian girls scored 25 goals in six matches, with 13 of them netted by clinical forward Harmony Chidi.
After the encounter with New Zealand, the Flamingos will confront their counterparts from Ecuador, also at the CFC Stadium in Santiago de los Caballeros, before their final group phase game against the host nation at the Felix Sanchez Stadium in Santo Domingo.
The clash with Ecuador is scheduled for Saturday, October 19, while the battle with the host nation will take place on Tuesday, October 22.
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