Izuchukwu Okosi
Nigeria will take on Germany in the third place final of the FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup in India after losing 6-5 to Colombia on penalty shootout.
The first semifinals game on Wednesday had ended 1-1 in 90 minutes forcing the contest to be decided on penalty shootout.
Join our WhatsApp ChannelThe duo of Omamuzo Edafe and Comfort Folorunsho missed their kicks which handed advantage to the South Americans.
Prime Business Africa presents the takeaways from the match in the city of Goa.
1. Not Starting Ajakaye From Kick-off
The head coach Bankole Oloworooke didn’t start top scorer in the African qualifiers, Opeyemi Ajakaye but went for Edidiong Etim to partner with Amina Bello.
The thought process must have been to destabilize any game plan the Colombians have to stop her from wrecking havoc. But it apparently didn’t work, as Bello-Etim combination failed to re-enact the telepathic understanding which Ajakaye has with Bello.
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2. Omilana Was Flamingos’ Best Player
But for the outstanding performance in Faith Omilana’s goal, the Colombians could have scored goals in 90 minutes that would have ended the game earlier than it lasted.
It was an improved performance for the keeper who was ponderous in the win over USA in the quarterfinals and subbed off for Chikamso Jiwuka who is better in penalty shoot-outs.
3. Second Half Revival For Colombia
On the balance of play, the Nigerian girls seemed to own the first half and the Colombians the second.
At a point, it was 60 – 40% ball possession for the Flamingos in the first half but Colombia turned it around at the restart and piled on pressure on the Flamingos’ backline.
4. Flamingos’ Firepower Lacking
Against New Zealand, the Flamingos never shied away from taking the shots from long range. They exuded confidence and used that to break the resoluteness of the opponents.
However, they could not do that when they faced the Colombians.
5. Folorunsho’s Penalty Duties
Defender Comfort Folorunsho was a poor taker of penalties so far in the FIFA U-17 Women’s tournament. After her miss against USA, it was a shock that no other player stepped up to take the ‘sudden death kick’ when Colombia had an advantage over the Africans.
The lack of self belief was evident as she walked up to the penalty area and predictably saw her effort saved by the opponent goalkeeper.
She ought not to have been allowed to play it. Hopefully, she doesn’t get another penalty task if the team and Germany have to play shootout in Sunday’s third-place final.
Izuchukwu Okosi is a Nigerian sports and entertainment journalist with two decades of experience in the media industry having begun his media journey in 2002 as an intern at Mundial Sports International (MSI) and Africa Independent Television (AIT), owners of Daar Communications Plc.
