Nigeria U-17 women’s national team coach Akeem Busari has challenged his players to maintain their mentality and fighting spirit as they prepare for the FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup final against Japan, Footynaija.com reports.
The Flamingos will have an opportunity to make history on Saturday when they face the Asian side in Rabat, with Nigeria seeking to become the first African nation to win the tournament.
Busari believes his players can draw confidence from their impressive 3-1 victory over DPR Korea in the group stage but warned that Japan will present a different challenge.
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Speaking ahead of the final, the Nigerian tactician stressed that his players must approach the encounter with the same character and determination that have carried them this far.
“From what we saw against DPR [Korea], I think it’s the core of what we should expect more of from the Japanese,” Busari told FIFA.
“But it’s a different ballgame because, for both us and them, the game will not be the same. The character, mentality and attitude which you approach every game with, and at every other level too, is what really matters.”
The Flamingos’ journey to the final has been particularly impressive after they recovered from a 2-1 opening defeat to Poland to record five consecutive victories against Puerto Rico, DPR Korea, Mexico, Venezuela and Brazil.
Busari admitted that his team had to work on their mentality and attitude following that initial setback, revealing that conversations with the players helped turn their campaign around.
“After the first game, we needed to sit them down, psychologically talk to them, talk about our game plan and all we have been doing in the sessions.
“We needed to change our attitude and character, but because of their age, we just needed to talk to them, to counsel them, and those are the points that make the difference,” he added.
The coach also insisted that reaching the final was not enough, urging his players to remain focused and continue fighting until they achieve their ultimate objective.
“We want to make our mentality right, we want to put our attitude down to the players as well so they can see the job is not yet done; we’re still on the track race. We’ll just have to really fight on until we get there,” he concluded.
Nigeria will now look to complete their remarkable campaign against Japan and bring the U-17 Women’s World Cup trophy to Africa for the first time.
