Olowookere praises Flamingos despite Colombia defeat

GOA, INDIA - OCTOBER 26: Players of Nigeria see PSO during the FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup 2022 Semi-Final, match between Nigeria and Colombia at Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium on October 26, 2022 in Goa, India. (Photo by Masashi Hara - FIFA/FIFA via Getty Images) Following the Flamingos’ defeat to Colombia in Wednesday’s semi-final of the U-17 Women’s World Cup in Goa, head coach Bankole Olowookere has assured Nigerians the girls still have a lot to play for in the third place. Flamingos on Wednesday lost 6-5 on penalties to the South American side after the match ended goalless in regulation time. In his post-match reaction, Flamingos head coach Bankole Olowookere reflected on his side’s semi-final loss and plans for the third-place match. “It has happened like this, you can’t control it, and they will feel the pain, imagine if we were playing in the final. I will give them time to soak and after a while, we will come in as a parent, as a father, I will talk to them and the rest of my technical crew will play our parental role and calm them down. “All is not lost, if we can put our heads together, we can still get something in the third-place match. “The girls have done well, this is the semi-final, a big stage in the tournament, it’s a very tough match. Like I told you, the more you progress, the more difficult it becomes. Colombia are tough opponents; it is just unfortunate that they did not win the match during regulation time.” He also refused to blame Comfort Folorunsho, who lost the penalty that handed Colombia the win, insisting that any player could have lost a penalty kick. “The person who missed her penalty is our specialist in taking a penalty, that is the game of penalties and I can’t say more than that because they are still young and I don’t know when they will listen to this interview. They have given their all, anybody can miss a penalty, even the best players in the world and big players before now have been missing penalties, so they should not to be crucified. It’s just unfortunate, anybody