Head coach of Flamingos, Bankole Olowookere, says his side needs two more wins to make history at the ongoing 2022 Women’s U-17 World Cup in India, Saturday PUNCH reports.
Olowookere disclosed this after the Flamingos’ recorded one of the biggest upsets of the tournament, beating the United States of America 4-3 on penalties in the quarter-finals at the D. Y. Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai on Friday.
It was a historic win as the Flamingoes qualified for the semi-finals for the first time in their history.
“I feel great making Nigerian happy with this victory,” Olowokere said in his post-match interview.
“We won’t rest on our oars to ensure that we complete the history we set out here to achieve.”
The Flamingos will take on the winner of the other quarter-final match between Tanzania and Columbia.
The semi-final is scheduled for the Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, Margao on Wednesday, October 26, 2022.
The USA was the dominant team in the initial stages of the first half, but it was Nigeria which broke the deadlock when USA defender Ella Emri fouled Amina Bello inside the box in the 24th minute.
Referee Luliana Demetrescu – who did not rule anything initially – was asked by the Video Assistant Referee to check the screen. After a TV check, she reversed her decision and pointed to the spot for a Nigeria penalty.
Omamuzo Edafe sent goalkeeper Valentina Amaral the wrong way and converted her penalty to give Nigeria the lead in the 26th minute.
The USA soon restored parity with five minutes left in the half.
Left-winger Onyeka Gamero slipped a well-timed pass to Amalia Villarreal, who had made a good run on the overlap. Villarreal connected well, and the ball ended in the back of the net after taking a deflection off Comfort Folorunsho, who had tried to block the shot.
The USA head coach Natalia Astrain made her attacking intentions clear by bringing in Charlotte Kohler, Melina Rebimbas and Mia Bhuta in the second half, but a resilient Nigeria held on.
With the game going into penalties, Nigeria replaced goalkeeper Faith Omilana with Chikamso Jiwuaku while Edet Offiong replaced injured Amina Bello, who was forced off the pitch on a stretcher.
The penalty shootout was dramatic. The USA’s Ella Emri was the first player to miss her penalty. Nigeria was nearing victory – with the score 3-2 in its favour – but Folorunsho’s penalty miss meant that the shootout was not yet over.
The ecstasy of the USA, however, was cut short as captain Riley Jackson’s penalty was saved.
With the shootout going into sudden death, USA’s keeper had to save the next penalty by Edafe. But Edafe kept her nerve to score and script history.
