31st August, 2012
Despite booking their place in the semi-final stage of the ongoing FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup in Japan, former Super Falcons player, Maureen Mmadu has asked the Falconets not to celebrate yet but intensify their work so as to win the trophy that have eluded the country.
The Falconets booked their place in the semi-final with a hard-fought 1-0 extra-time victory over a resilient Mexico in Tokyo yesterday but Mmadu cautioned the team not to go partying now because they are still two matches away from celebrating.
Mmadu, who is the captain of Avaldsnes IL, a first division-team in Norway said there is need for the team not to rejoice now but to work harder.
According to her “I have been following the progression of the team since the competition kicked off and I must confess the team is improving but I want to warn the team not to rejoice now but they should increase their work rate because there is still much work to be done”.
On their semi-final tie and lapses that she noticed, she said “In my opinion there is nothing wrong with the team at least they have not lost a game so far but my advice is that the strikers should always utilize created goal scoring chances”.
He however told the technical crew not to make changes to the team but to work on the tactical ability of the team saying “The coaches must work on the passes of the players because some of their passes were inaccurate and I believe if they can get their passes right they would score more goals in their semi-final match and go ahead to win the trophy”.
—Adebobola Alawode