Coach of Nigeria’s U-17 team, the Flamingos, Hakeem Busari, has warned his girls against complacency ahead of today (Sunday) FIFA’s U-17 Women’s World Cup second round second qualifier against the Syli National of Guinea.
Busari, whose team come into the encounter with a commanding 5-0 advantage, charged his girls to remain focused and committed in completing the assignment professionally, warning against taking it for granted despite holding a sizable first-leg advantage.
“Complacency will naturally set in as humans when you are ahead in terms of goals and performance,” Busari said ahead of the game.
“I see Guinea as a team that can still want to fight back. On our side, we still need to give more because we are playing at home. Our fans want to see the beauty of the game, we want to showcase what we have, we want to win excellently.”
The Kwara state born ex-Shooting Stars coach also revealed that much of the team’s preparation since returning from Côte d’Ivoire has centred on maintaining the right mentality and intensity in training.
The Flamingos host their Guinean counterparts at the Remo Stars Stadium in Ikenne-Remo for the second leg of the qualifying fixture. The first leg was played a week ago at the Félix Houphouët-Boigny stadium in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire.
The Nigerian side put up a dominant performance in the first leg encounter, combining attacking flair with tactical discipline to place themselves firmly on course for the final qualifying round.
The Flamingos have continued to build a reputation as one of the continent’s most promising youth sides in women’s football in recent years.
Recall at the last FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup held in 2022, Nigeria finished in historic third-place finish which is still the country’s best-ever outing at the tournament when they defeated Germany via penalties to win bronze.
Straight victory or an aggregate success over Guinea would send Nigeria into the final round of the qualification campaign as the Flamingos continue their quest for another appearance on the world stage.
The expanded 24-team FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup will be held later this year in Morocco from October 17 to November 7, with the official draw already concluded earlier this month by FIFA.
