Nigeria’s Flamingos will face Venezuela in the quarter-finals of the FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup in Morocco on Sunday, with both teams chasing a place in the last four.
The match will hold at Pitch 4 of the Mohammed VI Football Complex in Salé, Rabat, at 6pm local time, which is 7pm in Nigeria, on November 1.
The Flamingos started the tournament poorly, losing 2-1 to Poland in their opening Group B game. They recovered with a 2-0 win over debutants Puerto Rico and a 3-1 victory over defending champions North Korea to reach the Round of 16, where they edged Mexico. The result gave the team, coached by Hakeem Busari, the chance to go further than they did at the previous edition.
Venezuela are back at the tournament after a 10-year absence. They lost 2-0 to France in their first match, but picked up three points against Zambia in the group stage. They then stunned Germany 1-0 in the Round of 16.
They also reached the semi-finals in their last two appearances, and a win over Nigeria would take them into the last four for a third consecutive time.
Speaking at his pre-match press conference, Busari described the South Americans as a strong side and said his players would approach the game as they had their previous matches.
“Like I do say, it is one game after the other. For Venezuela, they are a very good side too to come into this tournament. So, we will approach it the same way we approach other teams. Because all of us in the quarterfinal are good to have been in that stage,” he said.
The coach urged the players to keep the right mentality and compete for every ball.
“So we are not leaving anything in terms of our preparation. The players are to go all out and play. We have to put our mentality right and fight for all balls,” he said.
“We have to really fight for all balls, both first and second balls. We have to take the game to them and pray for luck so that we can scale through that moment.”
Busari also asked his young players to stay calm and make the most of their chances, saying,
“We have done it before, and it is just for us to remind them before they are kids. You don’t put them under tense anxiety. Take the game calmly, concentrate, take your chances; when you are not with the ball, let’s fight for the ball. If you’re with the ball, let’s play. Let’s keep possession high and let’s take our chances.”
He warned that Venezuela would be physically demanding.
“There is something you must know about the character of a South American team. They are thorough and tough in terms of making duels,” Busari said.