Flamingos head coach Bankole Olowokeere has stated that his team will not underestimate Algeria, even though many have labeled the North African side as underdogs ahead of their third-round FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup qualifier clash.
Nigeria’s Flamingos have qualified for the World Cup seven times, only missing out in 2018 and finishing third-place in 2022. In stark contrast, Algeria’s U-17 Women’s National team have never qualified for the World Cup, but now stand a chance of making history by defeating Nigeria over two legs.
Although many expect an easy win for the Flamingos, Bankole Olowokeere in an interview with Sports Journalist Victor Ademola, discussed the preparations of the team towards ensuring victory over the Algerians.
“From the technical side, we’ve done the bit we need to do, we’ve tried to look at the videos of our two-legged match against South Africa and make corrections where there are mistakes,” the gaffer revealed.
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“We watched our opponents’ game as well, their match against Botswana. We’ve seen their strengths and we’re working on a way of curtailing them.”
“We are here to win and we want the same with our fellow Nigerians who are planning to come in their numbers to watch us on Saturday. We’re working towards winning and by the grace of God, we shall get it,” he added.
Olowokeere stressed that the Algerian team will not be underestimated, noting that they have shown themselves to be strong contenders in previous qualifying rounds: “They managed to qualify to this level. They’ve won two games and they’ve completed upsets so they’re in the game, it’s a competition. We will not take them for granted. They have their game plan, and we have ours, all that matters to us is to win.”
The highly-anticipated first leg clash between Nigeria and Algeria is scheduled to take place on Saturday at the Remo Stars Stadium, Ikenne at 4:00pm Nigerian time. The return leg will hold on Friday, April 25 at the Mustapha Tchaker Stadium in Blida.
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