Nigeria’s Flamingos will be aiming for the full points when they face New Zealand on Wednesday night in the first match of this year’s FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup in the Dominican Republic.
Although the game between host nation Dominican Republic and Ecuador (the other fixture in Group A) is billed as the opening match, Nigeria and New Zealand will do battle at the CFC Stadium in Santiago de los Caballeros from 4pm local time (9pm in Nigeria), while the hosts and Ecuador will begin their battle from 9pm local time (2am Thursday in Nigeria).
Bronze medallists in the last edition of the competition in India, the Flamingos are aiming to go farther this time, with head coach Bankole Olowookere insisting that he has the ammunition to overcome opponents on their way.
“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,” he said.
“The Nigeria Football Federation have done everything to prepare the team well, with a two-week final camping here in Dominican Republic.
“We do not underrate any of our opponents. However, we will take it one match at a time and produce our best in each game in order to go all the way.”
The Flamingos have previously missed taking part in only one edition of the FIFA U17 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 scored by clinical forward Harmony Chidi.
After the encounter with New Zealand on Wednesday night, the Flamingos will confront 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 on Saturday while the battle with the host nation is next Tuesday.
