Nigeria to go far in women's World Cup, says Liberian coach

[Richard Akindele]

Nigeria's national team Falconets will make great impact at the women's U-20 World Cup in Russia, according to Liberia coach Lucretius Toeba.

Toeba told a press conference shortly after his team's 1-9 lost to the Falconets at the Abuja Stadium at the weekend that the Nigerians had all it took to shine at the tournament, scheduled for Aug. 17-Sept. 3.

"The Nigerian girls are very good. I pray that they make Africa proud in Russia because they seem to have all the potential," he said.

"Nigeria is highly respected when it comes to female soccer in Africa. We know that they are the biggest team in the continent," Toeba said.

He admitted losing the qualifiers to a better Nigerian side, saying his game plans were disrupted entirely as his team failed to find its rhythm throughout the match.

Toeba said he fielded a very young team compared to his opponents, pointing out that the many years of civil war in his country had affected negatively on football development.

"We started female football in 1985, but the civil war disrupted the whole thing and we are just trying to start again," Toeba said.

Source: Xinhua