Head coach of Nigeria’s U17 girls, Bankole Olowookere, has expressed disappointment after his team suffered a 4–0 defeat to Italy in the Round of 16 of the ongoing 2025 FIFA U17 Women’s World Cup, www.aclsports.com reports.
Speaking after the match, Olowookere began by tendering an apology to fans across the world for the team’s exit.
“First of all, I want to tender an apology to our fans all over the world. We are sorry that we’ve come to the end of the road in this tournament. There are lessons for us to learn and benefits for us as well. It’s not too bad because we were able to get to the second round at least. Unfortunately, we wanted to push further, but the game turned around not in our favour.”
The coach said the Flamingos had started strongly and were close to reaching half-time level before conceding just before the break, a moment that changed the game’s momentum.
“Honestly, it’s painful, we didn’t work to deserve this. We came into the game with the mindset of doing something special and progressing to the next stage. Unfortunately, we held the game until the 44th minute before that painful goal came in, and subsequently, in the second half, everything went off. Sometimes, goals are a motivating factor, when you score, your morale goes up, but when you concede, it can drop.”
Despite the defeat, Olowookere commended his players for their effort and urged them to take positives from their World Cup experience.
“I give kudos to them. They gave their best, and even though our effort wasn’t enough, at least they tried. The World Cup is over, but the future is ahead of them. Some of them still have age on their side; they can still play at the U20 level or even make it to the Super Falcons someday. They’ve gathered a lot of experience here, facing players from other nations will go a long way in shaping their careers.”
Looking ahead, the coach noted that while Nigeria’s campaign ended in disappointing fashion, preparations for the next edition should begin immediately.
“For Nigeria, this is the end of the road for now, but the journey starts from here. We have to start preparing again. That’s what FIFA wants, to keep the girl child busy, improving, and producing more players. Compared to the male side, they’re catching up fast, and this initiative will continue to help bridge that gap. I’m happy FIFA is creating these opportunities because they’re very profitable for the girl child globally.”
While the defeat brought their World Cup campaign to an abrupt end, Nigeria will be looking forward to the next opportunity, with hopes of returning stronger.
