Nigeria U17 Women coach Bala NikyuPhoto by Getty

U17 Women’s World Cup qualifier: Ethiopia and Nigeria share spoils

Ethiopia held Nigeria to a 1-1 draw in Sunday’s Fifa U17 Women’s World Cup qualifying encounter played in Addis Ababa.

Fuelled by an impressive display in the opening minutes of the encounter, the Flamingos took the lead courtesy of Joy Jerry, but a barrage of misses saw they fail to get more goals.

In the second half, the hosts put their acts together to get the leveller in the 62nd minutes – through a free-kick that beat goalkeeper Christian Obia.

Following the disappointing draw, coach Bala Nikyu refuses to blame the weather condition while assuring of a better outing in the return leg.

“The weather did not help but I don’t like to give excuses for my team’s performance,” Nikyu told NFF media after the game.

“We have to work very hard when we return to Nigeria, ahead of the return leg. We must be more potent in attack and find a way to curtail the Ethiopians.”

The return leg holds at the Samuel Ogbemudia Stadium, Benin City on December 2017 with the winner on aggregate facing either Cameroon or Algeria in the final round of qualifiers.

Uruguay host the 2018 edition between November 20 and December 13, 2018. The Flamingos have not missed out of the competition since it was launched in 2008.

Advertisement