U-20 Women’s World Cup: Aduku Targets Big Win As Falconets Face New Caledonia

Falconets head coach Moses Aduku on Saturday says Nigeria’s U-20 women’s national team is ready to deliver a strong performance against New Caledonia in their crucial final Group F match at the FIFA U20 Women’s World Cup in Poland on Sunday.

The Falconets will face the tournament debutants at Stadion Miejski LKS Łódź, knowing that only a convincing victory can strengthen their chances of reaching the Round of 16.

New Caledonia sit at the bottom of Group F without a point after suffering heavy defeats to China and Spain, losing 0-5 and 0-11 respectively.

Despite their opponents’ difficult start to the competition, Aduku warned his players against complacency, insisting that New Caledonia must be treated with respect.

“We will not under-rate our opponents. I am happy because the girls are in good spirits and ready to go, and there are no injuries in our camp as I speak,” Aduku said.

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The coach stressed that scoring goals would be critical to Nigeria’s qualification hopes, with the Falconets currently on one point following their goalless draw against China on Thursday.

“We all know the implication of our not scoring goals on Sunday, so we will go in there and focus on scoring goals to stand a chance of reaching the next round. We cannot afford to go back home now,” he added.

Nigeria must secure a convincing win to overturn the two-goal deficit from their opening defeat to Spain and improve their goal difference sufficiently to boost their chances of progressing, regardless of the outcome of the other Group F match between Spain and China.