Nigeria’s U-17 women’s head coach, Bankole Olowookere, has urged his players to remain resilient and fight for survival after their 1–0 loss to France left their FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup campaign hanging by a thread.
The Flamingos, who have now lost both of their opening games in Morocco, produced a much-improved display compared to their 4–1 defeat to Canada, but a late strike from Maïssa Fathallah in the 81st minute condemned them to another setback in Group D.
Speaking after the game, Olowookere admitted the defeat was tough to take but stressed that the team still has a chance to turn things around.
“It’s so disappointing, man,” Olowookere said. “We’ll try to work hard in the next game and see how we can remain in the tournament.”
The coach, however, praised his players’ determination, expressing optimism that a convincing win in their final group game against Samoa could still earn them a spot in the knockout stage.
“The game we played is far better than the one against Canada,” he added. “If we had put up this kind of fight earlier, we wouldn’t be in this situation. But it’s so unfortunate that the late goal came in.”
With zero points and a four-goal deficit, Nigeria must beat Samoa convincingly to stand any chance of qualifying as one of the best four third-placed teams.
“Three points can be enough to go through,” Olowookere noted. “Our plan against Samoa is first to get the three points and then work on improving our goal difference.”
The Flamingos will now look to regroup and deliver a decisive performance in their final group-stage match as they seek to extend their stay in Morocco.
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