Nigeria’s U-17 women’s head coach, Bankole Olowookere has commended his players for staying motivated and handling the pressure of playing away against South Africa in their 2024 FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup qualifier.
Speaking after the Flamingos’ 3-1 victory, Olowookere revealed South Africa’s determination but praised his team for their discipline and performance.
“We played against the host country, the home team. So we expected home support and ginger. It happens in football, they were motivated.”
He noted that South Africa, playing at home, had extra motivation to impress their fans and federation.
“So they want to come out, they want to show the people that they are playing football.”
“The nation, the federation, they spend money on us. We had what it takes to be there.”
Olowookere anticipated a strong reaction from the hosts, especially after Nigeria took the lead.
“So I expected that any home team will play ball like that. Especially when we were leading them. So if they don’t have anything to do, to sit back, they have to fight back.”
Despite South Africa’s efforts, Nigeria maintained control and secured a crucial three-goal advantage on aggregate.
“So I’m expecting that as a coach, as a technical person, I know that it’s going to happen like that. But the only thing, the good thing is that we got our result.”
“We got three goals, we are leading on aggregate and we are comfortable.”
Looking ahead to the second leg, Olowookere explained the importance of defensive discipline to avoid conceding.
“So (going into the second leg), we just need to be careful not to concede another goal.”
“So we just need to contain the pressure, because if we go beyond that, we might concede another goal.”
He outlined his tactical approach, highlighting the need to control the game and exploit counterattacks.
“So we just need to contain them, kick some blue balls, make some counter. If we can get the goal, fine. If we cannot get it, we just need to kick the ball.”
With the second leg approaching, Nigeria will look to protect their lead and secure qualification for the FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup.
