Abuja – Bala Nikyu, Head Coach of the national under-17 women football team, on Thursday in Abuja assured Nigerians his team would defeat South Africa in their qualifying matches next month.
Nikyu told newsmen after a friendly match with Confluence Queens Football Club of Lokoja that his team needed to play more friendly games before their encounter with South Africa.
“Friendly games are not all about winning. They are for us to see the readiness of the team, and with the mistakes we saw during the game, what we needed to work more on the team.
“But now, we have to play more matches to make the players ready for the encounter with South Africa.
“Flamingoes will make Nigerians proud at the end of their games with South Africa,” Nikyu said.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) recalls that the Flamingos are billed to face South Africa on March 12.
Their face-off is in the first leg of the final qualifying round for the 2016 FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup.
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Speaking also after their 1-2 friendly match loss to the Flamingos, Chairman of Confluence Queens FC, Abdul Sule, advised the national team’s technical crew to reinforce the team before March 12.
“There is a lot of work to do with the team. I am really impressed with the game, as both teams performed well. This is a good game.
“My club is one of the best teams in the Women League. This year we will put our best in the league andbetter than last season,’’ he said.
On his part, the new coach of Confluence Queens, Ibrahim Adewuyi, said the friendly game was to assess the strengths of his team.
“It is a good game we played, with good opposition, and we are 80 per cent ready for the 2016 Nigeria Women Football League (NWFL) season.
“I will however advise the Flamingos to work hard. With the coaches they have, they will win the World Cup,’’ Adewuyi said.(NAN)