U17 Women's World Cup preview: History and how the Flamingos can beat the Colombians
Nigeria's U-17 women's national team, the Flamingos, exceeded all expectations en route to a first-ever semi-final and on their way to making history; they were brave, clinical and lucky.
When they take to the pitch at Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium on Wednesday, October 26, they will face Colombia, who are also at this stage for the first time in their history.
Unknown territoryWhile Nigeria have qualified for the quarter-finals three times, this is Colombia's first-ever foray beyond the group stage. On the road to the semi-finals, the two countries won three and lost one of their matches. While Colombia have scored seven goals and conceded two; Nigeria have scored eight times and conceded three times.
StoryNigeria and Colombia participated in the first tournament hosted by New Zealand in 2008, and both countries failed to qualify for the second round. Nigeria came third in Group D, while Colombia came last in Group A.
The Flamingos made a marked improvement in Trinidad and Tobago in 2010 by winning all three group matches and topping Group A. Colombia failed to qualify. The Flamingos then lost a hard-fought quarter-final 6-5 to South Korea after extra time.
In the 2012 edition in Azerbaijan, Nigeria again topped their Group A with seven points and scored 15 goals, conceding just one. Colombia was again absent. The Nigerians faced France in the quarter-finals where they lost 5-3 on penalties.
In Costa Rica in 2015, the Flamingos again dominated their group, which included Mexico, China and Colombia. The Nigerians beat Colombia 2-1, conceding the opening goal to Angel Rodriguez after just three minutes. But again, the quarter-final stage proved too much to get through as they quickly lost 3-0 to Spain, who lost 2-0 to Japan in the final.
There was a drastic downturn in 2017 in Jordan when the Flamingos died out in the group stage. They finished last in Group C with just one point while Colombia failed to qualify. The misfortunes continued in 2019 when the team, for the first time, failed to qualify from Africa.
Colombia were present in Uruguay in 2018 but did not make it out of the group stage. They came third in Group D, which included Spain, Canada and South Korea. Spain won the tournament beating Mexico 2-1 in the final in front of a crowd of 5,500.
Road to the semi-finals
Table ID=496 /
How the Flamingos can winThere is no greater Colombian threat than Linda Caicedo. The No11 has scored four of Colombia's seven goals in India and his goals have come in and out of the box.
READ ALSO: UPDATE: Nigeria Flamingos advance to first-ever World Cup semi-finalBut coach Bankole Olowookere has a solution by chaining defender Comfort Folorunsho, who needs to be detailed on a man-marking job as she has the ability to deal with the physicality and aggression of the Colombian captain .
Colombia also showed their weakness for being crossed in their box. The times when they were most fragile were when the crosses were grouped together in their box.
Coach Olowookere is also expected to task Opeyemi Ajakaye, the top scorer in qualifying but yet to score in India, to continue making runs behind the defense and for Amina Bello and midfielders Bisola Mosaku, Taiwo Afolabi and Blessing Emmanuel to try as much as possible to break through the lines and support the attackers.
The Flamingos also need to be ready for a physical battle, but they need to tone down any aggressive tackles that could lead to red cards.
Support the integrity and credibility journalism of PREMIUM TIMES Good journalism costs a lot of money. Yet only good journalism can guarantee the possibility of a good society, an accountable democracy and a transparent government. For free and continued access to the best investigative journalism in the country, we ask that you consider providing modest support to this noble endeavour. By contributing to PREMIUM TIMES, you help sustain relevant journalism and keep it free and accessible to everyone.
Nigeria's U-17 women's national team, the Flamingos, exceeded all expectations en route to a first-ever semi-final and on their way to making history; they were brave, clinical and lucky.
When they take to the pitch at Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium on Wednesday, October 26, they will face Colombia, who are also at this stage for the first time in their history.
Unknown territoryWhile Nigeria have qualified for the quarter-finals three times, this is Colombia's first-ever foray beyond the group stage. On the road to the semi-finals, the two countries won three and lost one of their matches. While Colombia have scored seven goals and conceded two; Nigeria have scored eight times and conceded three times.
StoryNigeria and Colombia participated in the first tournament hosted by New Zealand in 2008, and both countries failed to qualify for the second round. Nigeria came third in Group D, while Colombia came last in Group A.
The Flamingos made a marked improvement in Trinidad and Tobago in 2010 by winning all three group matches and topping Group A. Colombia failed to qualify. The Flamingos then lost a hard-fought quarter-final 6-5 to South Korea after extra time.
In the 2012 edition in Azerbaijan, Nigeria again topped their Group A with seven points and scored 15 goals, conceding just one. Colombia was again absent. The Nigerians faced France in the quarter-finals where they lost 5-3 on penalties.
In Costa Rica in 2015, the Flamingos again dominated their group, which included Mexico, China and Colombia. The Nigerians beat Colombia 2-1, conceding the opening goal to Angel Rodriguez after just three minutes. But again, the quarter-final stage proved too much to get through as they quickly lost 3-0 to Spain, who lost 2-0 to Japan in the final.
There was a drastic downturn in 2017 in Jordan when the Flamingos died out in the group stage. They finished last in Group C with just one point while Colombia failed to qualify. The misfortunes continued in 2019 when the team, for the first time, failed to qualify from Africa.
Colombia were present in Uruguay in 2018 but did not make it out of the group stage. They came third in Group D, which included Spain, Canada and South Korea. Spain won the tournament beating Mexico 2-1 in the final in front of a crowd of 5,500.
Road to the semi-finals
Table ID=496 /
How the Flamingos can winThere is no greater Colombian threat than Linda Caicedo. The No11 has scored four of Colombia's seven goals in India and his goals have come in and out of the box.
READ ALSO: UPDATE: Nigeria Flamingos advance to first-ever World Cup semi-finalBut coach Bankole Olowookere has a solution by chaining defender Comfort Folorunsho, who needs to be detailed on a man-marking job as she has the ability to deal with the physicality and aggression of the Colombian captain .
Colombia also showed their weakness for being crossed in their box. The times when they were most fragile were when the crosses were grouped together in their box.
Coach Olowookere is also expected to task Opeyemi Ajakaye, the top scorer in qualifying but yet to score in India, to continue making runs behind the defense and for Amina Bello and midfielders Bisola Mosaku, Taiwo Afolabi and Blessing Emmanuel to try as much as possible to break through the lines and support the attackers.
The Flamingos also need to be ready for a physical battle, but they need to tone down any aggressive tackles that could lead to red cards.
Support the integrity and credibility journalism of PREMIUM TIMES Good journalism costs a lot of money. Yet only good journalism can guarantee the possibility of a good society, an accountable democracy and a transparent government. For free and continued access to the best investigative journalism in the country, we ask that you consider providing modest support to this noble endeavour. By contributing to PREMIUM TIMES, you help sustain relevant journalism and keep it free and accessible to everyone.
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