Nigeria coach, Nikyu Bala, has commended the Flamingoes despite the goalless draw recorded against England on Tuesday, in a group C game of the ongoing fifth FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup in Jordan.
The result has put the hope of Nigeria’s qualification for the quarter-final in jeopardy, but Nikyu said the Flamingoes remain upbeat about winning the ticket to the knockout stage when they face Korea DPR in the last group game billed for Saturday at 2pm Nigeria time.
“It was a match played in the right spirit. I know how much the players gave out there. We performed well, but in football dominating the game and winning individual accolades don’t count. What matters is to score and to win. I think we did well in attack.
“We played a defensive game against Brazil and we lost (0-1) because we made a few mistakes that we’ve sorted out now. We were more adventurous today (against England) but there are still a few things we need to iron out before we take on Korea DPR (on Saturday).
“The players don’t have any experience of these competitions but they’re going to fight hard to try and win it. We can still go through and I think we deserve it,” Nikyu told FIFA.com.
Meanwhile, his counterpart from England, John Griffiths said the Flamingoes gave his girls a match just as he expressed satisfaction with the result.
“It was a tough match. We’re not used to playing in this heat. Following the results in the opening games, Nigeria just had to get a win. They pressed hard and we had to try and stop them getting into danger areas. We could have been better organised and attacked with a bit more pace, but, as I said, it all came down to the physical side of things today.
“I’m pleased with the result, but I know the next game against Brazil will be different. We’ve got two days to step up our preparations and try to cut out the kind of errors we’ve made in the first two games.”
