New Zealand’s U-17 women’s national team captain, Alyssha Eglinton, has expressed her team’s readiness and confidence ahead of their FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup opener against Nigeria’s Flamingos, Soccernet.ng reports.
New Zealand will face Nigeria U-17 girls, who are coming off a strong performance in the previous World Cup edition in India, where they won the bronze medal in India.
Speaking to FIFA.com, Eglinton reflected on the strong bond within the Young Football Ferns squad as they prepare to take on Nigeria in their Group A clash on Wednesday.
“I think as a team, we’ve really come together over the past 10 days that we’ve been here, and over the past year. So I think together we’re super ready and quite confident in ourselves and our ability,” said the centre-back.
The Young Football Ferns have a rich history in the FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup, having participated in every edition since the tournament’s inception in 2008.
Their best performance came in 2018 when they secured a third-place finish in Uruguay. Now, under Eglinton’s leadership, New Zealand hopes to go even further in the 2024 edition, held in the Dominican Republic.
The Flamingos, coached by Bankole Olowookere, are also targeting a deeper run this year, with high hopes of topping Group A, which also features the Dominican Republic and Ecuador.
The game between New Zealand and Nigeria, set for 4pm local time (9pm in Nigeria) at the CFC Stadium in Santiago de los Caballeros, is the first for both teams in the tournament.
Though the fixture between the host nation, the Dominican Republic, and Ecuador will be the official opener of the competition, all eyes will be on the New Zealand-Nigeria encounter as two strong sides battle for an early advantage in Group A.