Flamingos attacker Harmony Chidi has played down the threat posed by New Zealand as Nigeria open her account tonight at the FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup in Dominican Republic.
The Nigeria’s representatives will also square up with Ecuador and the Dominican Republic and Chidi who plays for Heartland Strikers Ladies in Owerri believes the Flamingos do not fear their group foes.
“These three teams in our group, they are humans like us. I don’t believe that any of them is a threat. No matter the team it is, we are beating them,” Chidi said in an interview with FIFA Media.
“We want to prove a point, and we want to make it count for our coach. All we are thinking about is for us to defeat our group opponents,” she said.
Meanwhile, New Zealand head coach, Alana Gunn, is confident her girls would start their campaign with a good result against Nigeria.
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Gunn said she was drawing an inspiration from the country’s past representatives in the competition who have left indelible marks.
“It is going to be a privilege to lead the team at the FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup and I’m really pleased with the squad we have assembled after a competitive selection process,” Gunn said.
“Having a number of the squad be part of the group for the OFC U-16 Women’s Championship 2024 last month has been good preparation for us, so we are looking to continue building on that momentum and challenging ourselves at the highest level.
“We know New Zealand have obviously done great things at the FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup so we want this generation to take inspiration from that success and we look to proudly represent the country in Dominican Republic,” she said