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Coach Akeem Busari Reflects on Nigeria’s 3-2 First-Leg Victory Over Benin Republic
Nigeria’s Flamingos head coach, Akeem Busari, has praised his players’ resilience following their hard-fought 3-2 victory over Benin Republic in the first leg of the final qualifying round for the FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup, while admitting there is still plenty of work to do ahead of the return leg.
Busari acknowledged that his technical crew thoroughly prepared the team before the encounter, studying their opponents and providing tactical instructions. However, he admitted that individual mistakes remain an inevitable part of football.
“Before a game of this magnitude, we carefully reviewed our opponents and gave the players clear instructions on how to approach the match,” Busari said. “Mistakes happen in football, and as coaches, we take responsibility when they occur. They are part of the game.”
The coach came to the defence of defender Esther Enne Stephen, whose costly error contributed to one of Benin Republic’s goals. Busari insisted that such mistakes should not define a player.
“Every player reacts differently under pressure. What happened to Esther was simply human error. Any player can make that kind of mistake. If we remove players every time they make an error, how do we build a team? Coaching is about believing in your players, working with them, and helping them improve. Football is a game of mistakes, and our job is to minimise them.”
Despite securing the win, Busari expressed concern over his side’s wastefulness in front of goal, revealing that the Flamingos created enough opportunities to win by a much wider margin.
“We thank God for the victory, but we wasted too many scoring chances, and that is not our style. We have to return to training and improve our finishing. Conceding an early goal also affected the players psychologically, but after speaking to them, they responded well. We’ll prepare properly for the second leg and, by God’s grace, secure another victory.”
Busari also highlighted the challenge posed by Benin Republic captain Romaine Gandanou, describing her as a player with senior international experience.
“Having a player like Romaine Gandanou is almost like bringing a Super Falcons player into an Under-17 competition because she already plays for the senior national team. Naturally, there will be a difference. Our responsibility was to identify her strengths and prepare our players accordingly. Football doesn’t always go exactly as planned, but we’ll analyse everything before the second leg.”
The Flamingos boss stressed that qualification remains the team’s primary objective and vowed that no effort would be spared in achieving it.
“Our focus is qualification. Qualification doesn’t come by magic—it comes through hard work, dedication, and commitment. We won’t leave any stone unturned. If we had taken our chances, the score could easily have been 7-2.”
Busari also revealed that the team has largely prepared by facing clubs from the Nigeria Women Football League (NWFL) Championship, with training programmes constantly reviewed by the Nigeria Football Federation.
“We’ve been playing teams like DreamStar Ladies and Unification FC, who are competitive and readily available. We regularly submit our training programmes for review. Right now, everything is centred on qualifying. Once we get past this stage, we’ll focus on playing stronger opposition.”
Reflecting on his players’ response after falling behind, Busari praised their character and determination.
“When we conceded first, I immediately encouraged the players to stay calm and restart the game quickly. They responded well and fought back strongly.”
Looking ahead to the decisive second leg, the coach admitted the narrow winning margin leaves little room for complacency.
“Our plan was to go two or three goals ahead, control possession, and make the opposition chase the game because we’re a good passing side. But with such a narrow scoreline, we’ll have to manage the next game carefully, avoid unnecessary risks, and ensure we don’t allow them too much space. It’s something we’ll thoroughly analyse before the second leg.”
