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FIFA Women Under-20 World Cup: After Downing Caledonia 10-1, Coach Mansur Abdullahi Discloses Tactics To Curb The Lionesses Of England Today
Falconets assistant coach Mansur Abdullahi has urged Nigerians to forget Nigeria’s 10-1 demolition of New Caledonia as the team prepares for a tougher FIFA Women’s U-20 World Cup encounter against England.
Nigeria secured the emphatic victory after losing to Spain and drawing with China, leaving the team with just one point and needing a convincing result to improve its goal difference.
Abdullahi, who praised the sweet tactical approach by the head coach, Coach Moses Aduku, explained that the team entered the New Caledonia match with a straightforward objective: score enough goals to remain competitive for qualification.
“The motivation was simple — score or go home,” he said.
The coaching staff, headed by Coach Moses Aduku, also introduced fresh legs during the match, making changes around the 62nd and 79th minutes as Nigeria maintained its attacking intensity until the final whistle.
The result featured outstanding individual performances, with Kareem scoring four goals and Winners adding three.
However, Abdullahi warned that the result should not create unrealistic expectations ahead of the meeting with England.
“Forget that 10-1,” he said, describing England as a different opponent.
According to the coach, England are disciplined, physical and tactically organised and are unlikely to provide the same amount of space Nigeria enjoyed against New Caledonia.
He said the Falconets would need to remain compact defensively, avoid unnecessary fouls around their penalty area and make effective use of their pace on the counter-attack.
Abdullahi identified Kareem and David as players capable of exploiting spaces when Nigeria transitions quickly from defence to attack.
The coach also pointed to Nigeria’s history at the competition, noting that the Falconets have previously reached the final on two occasions.
He said the team’s objective should be to combine the confidence gained from the 10-1 victory with defensive discipline and tactical concentration against England.
While acknowledging the significance of the New Caledonia performance, Abdullahi said the result should not place unnecessary pressure on the young players.
Regardless of the outcome against England, he said, the 10-1 victory demonstrated the character and determination of the Nigerian team and thanked the motivating support received from the leaders of sports in Nigeria.
The Falconets’ next challenge will therefore test whether the attacking confidence displayed against New Caledonia can be translated into a more controlled performance against a tactically disciplined opponent.
The Nigeria women Under-20 team, the Falconets, will take on England women Under-20 team, the Junior Lionesses at 2pm Nigerian time today.
Credit: Nathaniel Mobolade
