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From Harry Awurumibe, Live in Morocco
Nigeria’s Flamingos head coach Busari Hakeem Ishola has revealed how he plotted the downfall of the invincible North Korea in a major upset of the ongoing FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup finals in Morocco after the Flamingos defeated the defending champions 3-1 in the Group B last match at Pitch 1 of Mohammed VI Football Complex in Rabat on Friday.A well-oiled Nigeria’s U-17 women’s football team outclassed their North Korean opponents as they ran away with a 3-1 victory with two first half goals by the usual suspect Oluwakemi Adegbuyi (15′), Oluebube Umejiaku (38′) and the third goal in the second half by Kanyinsola Yusuf (56′) with North Korea’s consolation penalty goal converted by midfielder Yu Jong-hyang (82′, penalty).
The result catapulted Nigeria to the second place finish behind North Korea as both teams still progressed to the Round of 16 from Group B, with North Korea advancing on goal difference.
But in an exclusive chat with Prompt News in Rabat, an elated Busari said that the impressive performance of his wards and the 3-1 comfortable victory over the invincible North Korea on the day did not just happen without a deliberate planning.
According to him, the encounter against the U-17 Women’s World Cup defending champions posed its own peculiar challenge because of the pedigree of the opponents that had scored 12 goals and conceded only one in two matches and with that in mind he planned how to counter the style of the Koreans.
The soft-spoken Busari disclosed that after watching the past matches played by North Korea especially Poland and against Puerto Rico, he has to dig deep to fashion out the game plan to beat the opposition.
He however said that the victory is a collective efforts and would not like to take credit alone as he got both technical and moral support from every quarter to achieve result, pointing out that football is a team game.
“Our victory over North Koreans is a collective efforts, the players, my assistants, backroom staff and indeed everyone supporting us. It was not easy but we did it”, Busari said.
The gaffer who made a bold decision in the match to bench his none preforming team captain Harmony Chidera Chidi who he replaced in the starting line-up by Oluebube Umejiaku, the scorer of Nigeria’s second goal, praised his wards’ resilience and tactical execution of the game plan.
In fact, Busari who is new on the job executed a tactical masterclass by selecting a fully fit and hungry team battle-ready to confront the high-flying Koreans scoring goals as if it was going out of fashion.
Against North Korea, Busari planned a compact mid-block and urged his girls to stay disciplined, limit North Korean space, and approach the game with greater aggression rather than sitting back.
His deployment of Adegbuyi to operate from the left side of the pitch and Umejiaku to run from the middle of the field confused North Korea and the Flamingos showing up in numbers on the opposition box created problems for the opponents.
The result was an early goal by Nigeria as North Korea went into panic mood, conceded the goal and never recovered till the end of the first half and on resumption Nigeria scored the third goal to take the wind out of North Korea’s sails and the late goal by the Koreans did not matter as won 3-1 on the day to qualify for the Round of 16.
Meanwhile, North Korea U-17 women’s head coach Ji Yun-nam clearly acknowledged the physical intensity and competitiveness of the Nigerians in his side’s 1-3 loss to Flamingos at Mohammed VI Football Complex in Rabat on Friday.
Ji Yun-nam admitted that facing a strong side like Nigeria made him realize how challenging it is to compete at the world level.
He noted that going up against an African team highlighted the need for his squad to improve their physical strength and preparation ahead of the knockout rounds.