By ANDRE BISYIT
The Acting General Secretary of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF), Emmanuel Ikpeme, has urged Nigeria’s U17 girls, the Flamingos, to defeat Mexico and reach the quarter-finals of the FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup in Morocco.
Ikpeme gave the charge while visiting the team’s training session ahead of Thursday’s Round of 16 clash against Mexico, following their 3-1 victory over two-time champions Korea DPR.
He commended the players for their performance and urged them to maintain their determination, take each match as it comes and remain focused on reaching the quarter-finals.
Ikpeme also promised to attend Thursday’s match to support the team.
The Flamingos scored six goals in three group-stage matches. Oluwakemi Adegbuyi and Oluebube Umejiaku scored two goals each, while Precious Oscar scored Nigeria’s second goal against Puerto Rico. Rodiat Kanyinsola Yusuf also scored a free-kick against Korea DPR.
Thursday’s encounter will pit two former bronze medallists against each other. Nigeria won bronze at the tournament in India four years ago, defeating Germany 3-2 on penalties after the Germans recovered from a three-goal deficit.
Mexico claimed bronze at last year’s tournament in Morocco, beating Brazil 3-1 on penalties after a 1-1 draw.