Bankole Olowookere, the head coach of Nigeria’s under-17 women national football team, says they will correct all their mistakes before their second leg match against Egypt on April 30.
NAN reports that the Flamingoes defeated their Egyptian counterparts 4-0 in the first leg match at the Moshood Abiola National Stadium in Abuja on Sunday.
But the team’s performance in the third round first leg match in the 2022 FIFA Under-17 Women’s World Cup Qualifying Competition was not overwhelming as they missed several goalscoring chances.
Olowookere however said he was happy that they fulfilled their promise of putting a smile in the faces of Nigerian football fans after the match.
“Kudos to the girls for a job well done. But it is a fact that we are just grooming these girls and they are part of the development programme of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF).
“So, we will work hard to correct all the lapses before the next match in Cairo,” he said.
On his part, coach of the Egyptian side, Mohammed Mashood, said his players had a good performance in their game.
“It is not about winning, it is all about the performance. But I congratulate Nigeria on their victory.
“But we will definitely turn the game around in the return leg in Cairo,” he said.
Mashood said the match’s officiating by the referrers was very poor during the match.
“They (CAF) need to bring some good and better referees to officiate a match like this.
“Nigeria and Egypt are known to be good in football, and they are one of the top and biggest teams in Africa.
“But they just bring inexperienced referees to officiate a match because they are under-17 players,” he said.
NAN reports that both teams will clash again in Cairo on April 30 in the second leg match.
The overall winners will likely play Ethiopia in the final round of the series for a ticket to the FIFA World Cup in India.
NAN reports that the 2022 FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup will hold in India from Oct. 11 to Oct. 30.(NAN)
