Aduku reiterates World Cup dream ahead of England clash

Nigeria’s women’s U-20 coach Moses Aduku says winning the FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup has been his target since taking charge of the Falconets as his side faces England in the round of 16 in Poland on Thursday (today), The PUNCH reports.

The Falconets will face England at Stadion Miejski Bielsko-Biała, with Aduku insisting that lifting the trophy remains the ultimate objective despite the challenge posed by the European side.

“It will not surprise us. Right from the first day I was appointed, I made it clear to the players and the backroom staff that my vision is to win the World Cup. And I told them they could back out if they were not ready,” Aduku said.

“So, if we win by Thursday, it will not be a surprise for me, and the celebrations will end on the pitch, and we will focus on the next game. We will make Nigeria proud, by God’s grace.”

Nigeria booked their round of 16 place with an emphatic 10-1 win over New Caledonia last Sunday. They had lost 2-0 to Spain in their opening game and drew 0-0 with China in their second game.

Ramotalahi Kareem opened the scoring from the penalty spot and completed her hat-trick, while substitute Winner Onajite David also scored three times as the Falconets secured their place in the knockout stage.

• Aduku predicts tough England test
• Falconets ready for England after N’Caledonia thrashing
• Nigeria thrash New Caledonia 10-1, reach U-20 World Cup knockouts

Ahead of today’s encounter, he also revealed that the team

“We have been back in training and working on goal scoring and defending. This is the future for Nigeria because after this level, they will move to the next level of their careers.”

Nigeria have featured at every edition of the competition since its inception in 2002 and are two-time runners-up, finishing second in 2010 and 2014. They also won bronze in 2012.

The Falconets lost both finals to Germany and will now seek to continue their pursuit of a first world title against England.

Nigeria, Brazil and the United States are the only teams to have appeared at every edition of the competition, following Germany’s failure to qualify for this year’s tournament.

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