India 2022™: Nigeria in driving seat after big home win
Nigeria put one leg in the fourth round of the African qualifiers for the FIFA U17 Women's World Cup, India 2022™ after a 4-0 first leg thrashing of Egypt in Abuja on Sunday, April 17.
The Egyptians had scales through to the third round after the withdrawal of Guinea Bissau, while the Nigerians reached the stage following an 8-0 aggregate victory over DR Congo in March 2022.
The Flamingos made a promising start at the Moshood Abiola Stadium but couldn't find a breakthrough until Opeyemi Ajakaye opened the scoring with a calm finish from close range in the 28th minute.
The Egyptians, however, almost leveled up two minutes latter when captain Nadia Ramadhan found her way into the box before launching her strike but keeper Faith Omilana denied her with a point blank save.
Meanwhile, the home side regained dominance and we're rewarded with the second of the match when Omowunmi Bello headed home Fatimoh Adeshina's corner in the 38th minute of the match.
With a 2-0 up, the Flamingos continued from where the left off but Ajakaye missed a glorious chance to increase the tally two minutes into the second half before the visitors reclaimed possession of the ball.
However, another breakthrough came for the Nigerians when Miracle Usani calmly received a pass and fired into the bottom corner with a low driven shot for the hosts' third goal in the 54th minute.
The goal-hungry Flamingos did not relent and added the fourth when Bello found space on the edge before firing the ball beyond the rushing Egyptian goalkeeper eight minutes later.
In the closing stages, the visitors made numerous attempts to bag a precious away goal, notably through Farah Elmahdy but the Nigerian defense held on to protect their clean sheet.
After the loss in Abuja, the baby Pharaohs will seek to put up a strong performance in a bid to overturn the deficit when both teams meet in the second leg in Cairo on May 1, 2022.
WHAT THEY SAID:
Bankole Olowookere (Nigeria U17 coach)
We wanted to score more than four but I must say kudos to the girls for the performance today. It was not easy to create chances let alone of scoring. To score four goals, we must give credit to the girls. They can score more but they are not a finished product yet. Our game today was far better than what we had against DR Congo and this was a stiffer opposition. We will try to make the necessary corrections before our next match and ensure we do better, converting our chances.
Mohamed Moshen (Egypt U17 coach)
I want to say that my players had a great performance. Both teams had several chances on goal but the Nigerians were able to convert theirs due to their experience and because they are number one in Africa. For my girls, they did everything and back in Cairo, we will be able to have a more better performance and result as well. This is football and anything is possible.