Falconets seek to sustain perfect record against Canada – Sporting Life

Nigeria will look to complete the group stage of the FIFA U20 Women’s World Cup when they take on Canada early Thursday morning (3am) in Nigeria at the Estadio Alajuela Morera Soto. Kick-off in Alajuela would be on Wednesday at 8 p.m. Costa Rica time.

Rising as the top team in Group C after 1-0 victories over France and Canada has thrown the Falconets into the Kliglights’ toughest spot, but head coach Chris Danjuma Musa says his girls have their feet firmly on the ground when they face the North Americans for another three points.

“We want to get three wins out of three to keep a great mental state – the winning mentality. If we’re used to winning, it would be difficult for any team to bring us down.

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“It would be a mistake to reduce our pace and drive just because we qualified for the quarterfinals. The best way to do this is always to treat each game as a task to be accomplished and not slowed down. We will continue to face tougher teams and the winning mentality will sustain us.”

Canada, who hosted the tournament eight years ago when Nigeria reached the final for the second time (with a shaky goal against Germany), are riding a wave of impossibility after losing their first two games to Korea Republic and France, four behind has goals. With Nigeria already qualified, the battle for second place in Group C is a head-to-head battle between Korea Republic and France, who are playing concurrently (03:00 Nigerian time) at the Estadio Nacional in San Jose. Both teams have three points each.

For Canada to sneak through, they would need to secure a high-score win against Nigeria and hope that either France or Korea Republic maim the other in the capital.

Musa will surely start with the girls who brought down the stubborn Koreans on Sunday night. Goalkeeper Omini Oyono showed improved composure and ball control, and the steel and awareness of captain Oluwatosin Demehin, Omowumi Oshobukola, Jumoke Alani and Rofiat Imuran support the two-time runners-up quite well in defence.

Alongside Chioma Olise, Bashirat Amoo, Joy Jerry and the tireless Mercy Idoko, midfielder Esther Onyenezide, who scored the top scorer against the Koreans, and forward Flourish Sabastine, who scored the three-point win over France, are also likely to be in the game.