By: Onyekachi Chimezie
Super Falconets top scorer Esther Onyenezide has expressed optimism that they will get the job done by beating Netherlands to book a semi final berth at the ongoing FIFA women’s U-20 Worldcup in Costa Rica stating that they are ready for the challenge ahead of them.
The 18-year-old midfielder who scored the game-winning goal for the Falconets against South Korea in their second group stage match last Sunday and a brace from the spot against Canada on Thursday stated they are prepared to give it their best against the Dutch team on Sunday.
“We are going to bring out our best. We doubled our efforts against France and South Korea. We’ll do the same on Sunday against the Netherlands because this is a stage where we have to execute everything we have been learning. The next stage is semi-finals, we are not ready to leave the tournament now.”
Esther Onyenezide, who sits second in the goal scoring chart with 3 goals, a tally which is only bettered by Spain’s 19-year-old midfielder Inma Gabarro who has racked up four goals, concluded that she is very confident Nigeria will make it four wins out of four on Sunday.
“We said we are going to beat France, which we did. If the Netherlands can beat Ghana by 4-1, I am still saying and repeating it that we are going to bring them(Netherlands) down.”
Coach Christopher Danjuma’s girls made it through to the knockout stages in Costa winning all three of their group stage matches ending a 20-year drought to achieve the feat since winning all their three group stage games in their debut campaign in 2002.
The Falconets will attempt to advance into the Semi-finals for the fourth time since their previous trip in the last four in Canada 2014, where they defeated South Korea 6-2 before falling to Germany in the final during extra time by a score of 1-0.
The two-time finalist will play Netherlands at the Estadio Alejandro Morera Soto in Alajuela on Sunday, 23:30 PM(Nigeria time).
