Nigeria’s female national team, Super Falcons’ coach, Thomas Dennerby has downplayed his side’s 4-1 loss to the under-16 boys team of ASEC Mimosas of Cote d’Ivoire, as he says all he wanted from the game was seeing how his players respond, not the result.
Footballlive.ng gathered that the Swedish soccer tactician is not in any way bothered that his side lost by a wide margin, as he says they will not play against male opponents at the Africa Women’s Cup of Nations in Ghana.
Rather than get worked up by the defeat on Friday, Dennerby says he was happy with what he saw from his players in the match against the boys, which he called a very good preparation game ahead of AWCON 2018 in Ghana.
Dennerby said he was happy to see his players’ displays, especially in midfield, which drew applause from the crowd at Sol Beni in Abidjan, Cote d’Ivoire, but admitted that some errors need to be corrected ahead of the tournament.
The Nigerian delegation leaves Abidjan for Ghana on Wednesday, as AWCON 2018 kicks off on November 17 to end on December 1.
Nigeria, the most successful team at the AWCON with eight titles, will start out against South Africa, ahead of which Dennerby admits his side’s pedigree comes with huge pressure that they would have to deal with.
Dennerby added: “The final score doesn’t matter. What I wanted was that stretch and intensity from a strong opposition. The ASEC U16 are the best in the country.
“We are still working, although I believe my team is battle ready. We need to correct certain things I wouldn’t reveal here. You saw how the goalkeepers performed.
“In our regular situation they wouldn’t concede those goals and ASEC goalkeeper had to do lots of saves. That shows the level we are aiming to achieve before we leave for Ghana.
“The Super Falcons are a team to beat at the tournament. Everybody coming against us would play their best in order to overcome us.
“I am happy about that. It is huge pressure that gives us motivation. We are not afraid of anybody. We will play our game team by team, without underrating any side.”
