Falconets Back Themselves to Score Big Against New Caledonia
By Aboki Forex —
Nigeria's U20 women's team, the Falconets, will face debutants New Caledonia on Sunday at Stadion Miejski LKS Łódź, with head coach Moses Aduku promising his side will fire on all cylinders.
The Falconets have one point from their goalless draw with China on Thursday and need a convincing win to keep their Round of 16 hopes alive.
New Caledonia's Group F Record
New Caledonia sit bottom of Group F with no points and a goal difference of minus 16 after heavy defeats by China and Spain, losing 5-0 and 11-0 respectively.
Despite those results, Aduku said Nigeria would not underestimate the opponents.
"The results in their last two matches notwithstanding, we will not underrate 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.
Why Goals Matter
Nigeria know that qualification is likely to be decided on goal difference, which puts pressure on Aduku's side to take maximum points and score as many goals as possible.
"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.
The Falconets must improve their goal difference enough to advance regardless of the outcome of the other Group F match between Spain and China.
That leaves Aduku with a dual task on Sunday: secure the win, and run up the score against a side that has already conceded 16 goals in two matches.