National U-17 women’s team, Bankole Olowookere has said that his side won’t underrate West African rivals, Burkina Faso.
The Flamingos will face Burkina Faso in a two-legged third-round clash of 2024 FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup Qualifiers next month.
He assured that they will work hard to ensure that the team secures qualification while noting that before the World Cup, a balanced team will be set up.
“Every team should be a threat. Once you underrate your opponent then you are in trouble. You give them respect before the game but when the game starts you throw away the respect. That has always been my culture. I would give them respect because I don’t have much of their tactical in-depth. I have to be mindful of that. That’s why I will try as much as possible not to underrate them.
“Even though if you look at the African set-up. They [Burkina Faso] won’t decide if Nigeria will not make it to the World Cup. God forbid. We have to work hard and play as if we want to play against the Lions. To qualify from Africa is even the worst, very difficult, and tight. We will work towards that to make sure that we win and move to the next stage.
“Aside from these ones that came in, we have over 70 of them that we shortlisted. There are some of them that we dropped. They did well but not too well but we still have other talents. We want to give them equal opportunity.
“Very soon. Before the World Cup, I think we will be able to have a balanced team so that we will get a great backup to defend the next World Cup in October.”
Olowookere has invited 25 players to the camp of Flamingos, ahead of next month’s clash.
The first leg of this third-round fixture is scheduled for the Stade 4 August in Ouagadougou on Sunday, 12th May with the return leg at the Moshood Abiola Stadium, Abuja on Saturday, 18th May.
