“I’m extremely wary of Nigerian players” – France coach reveals concern

The Falconets will face France U-20 on Friday in the first game of the FIFA Women’s World Youth Championship

Sonia Haziraj, the France U-20 coach has revealed her fears about the Falconets.

Haziraj said she respects African teams a lot and sees great quality in the Nigerian players.

“I’m extremely wary of Nigeria. I have massive respect for the African game and Nigeria have a number of players who possess real quality,” Haziraj told the Fifa website.

“The Nigerians always get out of their group at the youth tournaments. I’ve watched them and they’re a well-drilled, hard-working side.

“They have great pace and are very athletic, and we’ll have to be ready to match them in that respect.”

When is Nigeria facing France?

The Falconets will face France on Friday morning at 12:00 a.m and will hope to start the tournament on a positive note at the expense of the Nigerians. 

A disadvantage the Falconet hope they can overcome is the lack of preparatory games before the tournament.

The team’s coach, Christopher Danjuma said the team’s mentality and the much-vaunted Nigerian spirit should come to count.

France thrashed Ghana U-20 4-0 in a preparatory game for the Super Falcons but their coach Haziraj rates the Falconets highly regardless.

“USA, with their pace and direct attacking play, are similar to Nigeria, whilst the Netherlands are very much like the Canadians in that they’re really disciplined, athletic and afford you very little in the way of space,” she said of the pace and directness of the Falconets.

“When it comes to the South Koreans, we haven’t got too much of an insight. What we do know is that, just like all Asian teams, they’re a very tough side, a strong unit and cover a lot of ground.”