Nigeria’s female youth national team, Falconets have received a huge warning that they will not find the going easy when they face Colombia in the quarter-finals of the ongoing FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup in Poland, Sports247 reports.
The warning comes with a reminder that the South Americans are into the competition’s quarter-finals for a second consecutive edition, though they progressed from Group E of this year’s championship as a third-placed team.
With their sudden burst of form turning out to be good enough, Moses Aduku’s squad will have to redouble their efforts in order to overcome the Colombians, who reached the last eight after edging hosts Poland 1-0 on Thursday.
The lone goal came from Poland defender, Martyna Bartczak’s 89th-minute deflection off Mariana Silva’s shot, a few hours after Nigeria won 3-0 against England with goals from Tosin Rafiu, woman of the match, Janet Akekoromowei and super-sub, Mary Mamudu.
Aduku admitted the next game will tougher than all four before it, but added that he and his players know what they are up against, hence his decision to avoid extensive celebrations of Thursday’s victory over England, as they have to start preparing for the next game.
“The English team never believed that we could play up to this level. I told the players, this game is gone, let’s have a short celebration because we have the next game to play so let’s focus on the next,” Aduku reflected ahead of Sunday’s last-eight fixture in Lodz.
However, he must pay attention to a warning by Colombia’s captain, Juana Ortegon, who disclosed: “This team is all about fighting until the end. We always fight and do our best, we never stop trying to go forward.
“We will play match by match. We are very happy to be in the quarter-finals. So, we will think about Nigeria first, but this team will always compete to win. Our dream is to win the world title, but we’re going match by match.”
