Nigeria U-17 Women’s Coach Bankole Olowookere Calls for Must-Win Against Samoa at FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup

Nigeria's U-17 women's coach, Bankole Olowookere, has urged his players to fight for survival after a 1-0 defeat to France in their second game of the ongoing FIFA Women’s U-17 World Cup in Morocco. The Flamigoes had lost 4-1 to Canada in their first game and now enter their next game in a must-win situation. Despite a good show in their last game, a late French goal in the 81st minute left the Flamingos' World Cup hopes hanging. Nevertheless, Olowookere believes a big win against Samoa Island could keep them in the competition.

“As we said, we just need to see if we can get something. We’ll try to work hard in the next game and see how we can remain in the tournament.”
“Three points can be enough to go through. We have a deficit of four goals now, so our plan against Samoa is first to get the three points and then see how we can make the tally much better and be more comfortable with what we’ve also conceded. That’s what we’re going to work on,” he said.

Nigeria are currently with no points in their group and will need to get a massive win against Samoa in their final group game. They need a convincing win to advance to the knockout rounds as one of the best four third-placed teams.