Nigeria’s U-17 women’s national team head coach, Bankole Olowookere, has expressed full confidence in his side ahead of their FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup opener against New Zealand’s Young Football Ferns, Soccernet.ng reports.
His troops are slated to tackle New Zealand tomorrow at the CFC Stadium in Santiago de los Caballeros with the aim of starting the tournament on a high note.
Speaking ahead of the much-anticipated clash, Olowookere insisted that his squad is well-prepared to face any opponent in the tournament as they aim to surpass their bronze-medal finish from the last edition in India.
“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. The Nigeria Football Federation has done everything to prepare the team well, with a two-week final camping here in the Dominican Republic,” Olowookere told the NFF COMS.
The Flamingos have been in the Dominican Republic, fine-tuning their preparations ahead of their Group A opener against New Zealand on Wednesday.
With a focus on maintaining momentum and improving upon their past success, Olowookere stressed the importance of approaching each game methodically.
“We do not under-rate 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,” he added.
The Nigerian side will face New Zealand, which is a team that has participated in every edition of the U-17 Women’s World Cup since its inception in 2008.
The match between Nigeria and New Zealand will take place at the CFC Stadium in Santiago de los Caballeros at 4pm local time (9pm in Nigeria). With both teams eager to kick off their tournament with a win.