Nigeria’s Falconets head coach, Moses Aduku, has said his team are fully prepared to fight for victory against New Caledonia in their crucial final Group F match at the FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup on Sunday.
The Falconets will face the tournament debutants at Stadion Miejski LKS Lodz knowing that only a convincing victory can strengthen their chances of progressing to the Round of 16.
Nigeria are currently third in Group F with one point after losing 2-0 to Spain in their opening game before settling for a goalless draw against China on Thursday.
With Spain topping the group on six points and China second with four, the Falconets need to produce a strong result against New Caledonia while also hoping other results go in their favour to secure either second place or one of the four best third-place spots.
Aduku said the team would not be complacent despite New Caledonia suffering heavy defeats in their opening matches, adding that his players were in good condition ahead of the encounter.
“The results in their last two matches notwithstanding, we will not under-rate our opponents. I am happy because the girls are in good spirits and ready to go, and there are no injuries in our camp as I speak,” he said.
The coach stressed the importance of finding the back of the net, with Nigeria needing to improve their goal difference to boost their qualification prospects.
“We all know the implication of our not scoring goals on Sunday, so we will go in there and focus on scoring goals to stand a chance of reaching the next round. We cannot afford to go back home now.”
New Caledonia, who are making their first appearance at the competition, are bottom of the group without a point after suffering 5-0 and 11-0 defeats to China and Spain respectively.
Their coach, Leon Waitronyie, said his team would adopt a more attacking approach as they seek their first goal of the tournament.
“We need to play a little higher up the pitch and try to score a goal,” Waitronyie said.
