Nigeria’s female youth national team, the Falconets, have been tipped to deliver a better performance against England this Thursday at the ongoing FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup in Poland.
Sports247 reports that this prediction was made by the acting general secretary of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF), Dr Emmanuel Ikpeme, while reflecting on the team’s 10-1 trouncing of New Caledonia on Sunday.
The result took Moses Aduku’s squad up to second place on the final group table by goal difference, though level on four points with China, who lost 3-1 to Spain in the corresponding simultaneous fixture to end the first round campaign.
Ikpeme noted that the Herculean performance by Aduku’s team was worthy of commendation, but charged the players to keep on seeking how to improve, as they get ready to tackle Group E winners, England, in the round of 16 on Thursday.
The NFF’s interim scribe praised the players for achieving a historic feat, which he acknowledged brought pride to Nigeria, thereby making everyone in the corridors of government and sports leaders of the country very happy.
He posited, “The Presidency, through the National Sports Commission, the NFF, Nigerian football stakeholders, all Nigerians at home and in the diaspora, are very proud of the outing of the Falconets against New Caledonia.
“They showed the true Nigerian spirit and overcame the odds when it mattered most. The result has taken them to the round of 16, and we believe the team can only get better. I charge them to sustain the win-mentality and go all the way.”
Sports247 reports further that victory over England on Thursday will take the current set of Falconets into the quarter-finals and another step closer to equalling the runners-up spots achieved by the squads of 2010 and 2014.
