Dominican Republic 2024: Olowookere says girls focused on Burkina Faso, not Senegal

Head Coach Bankole Olowookere has assured that the Nigeria U17 girls have their minds firmly trained on Saturday’s FIFA U17 Women’s World Cup qualifying match against their counterparts from Burkina Faso, and not on the final round of the qualifiers against either of Senegal and Liberia.

“We have one hurdle to cross before the final hurdle, and that is what we are thinking about. Yes, we know it would be either Senegal or Liberia in the final round, but we have to first get past the roadblock mounted by Burkina Faso.

“We threw away a lot of opportunities in the first leg. If we had converted those chances, we would be sleeping easy and thinking this is a formality match, but we did not. On Saturday, we must convert our chances and that can only be done by good presence of mind and focus.”

Olowookere led the Flamingos to third-place finish at the last edition of the global finals in India, and knows only victory on Saturday will propel his girls to a final round fixture that will present the opportunity for a return to the World Cup.

Senegal thrashed Liberia 3-1 in the first leg of their fixture in Dakar and look poised to be the team waiting in that final round.

On Thursday, the Flamingos received motivation from the NFF Technical Director, Coach Augustine Eguavoen and the CEO of Enugu Rangers FC, Barr. Amobi Ezeaku, who were both at the team’s training session.

Eguavoen said: “I’m pleased with what I have seen, and I can assure you that I will deliver my monetary gift to you after the match.” On his part, Ezeaku, who also expressed delight with the display of the girls at training, promised the team the sum of one million naira.

Saturday’s encounter at the MKO Abiola National Stadium will commence at 4.30pm. The first leg in Bamako last Saturday ended 1-1.