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THE NATION SPORT SUNDAY, OCTOBER 14, 2012
SPORT EXTRA
U-!7 Women: France beat Korea DPR to title
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RANCE won the FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup on penalties against Korea DPR following a 11 draw at the Tofig Bahramov Stadium in Baku. The French became the first European side to be crowned champions at the competition after a 76 shoot-out victory, with Ri Un Yong of Korea DPR the unfortunate person to miss the crucial spot-kick. Lea Declercq had put France ahead in the first half, before a late equaliser from Ri Un Sim forced penalties in the showpiece, and after a long shoot-out which also saw Kim Un Hwa and Marion Romanelli fail from 12 yards, Ri Un Yong's miss allowed the French to celebrate. France had perhaps settled the quicker in the match, passing the ball crisply across the field, and it was Guy Ferrier's side who created the first genuine chance after 11 minutes. Racing onto a through ball down the right hand side, captain Sandie Toletti picked out Declercq on the opposite flank but, after taking a touch, the forward sent her attempt far too high. In the third place match, a solitary Priscilla Okyere goal proved enough for Ghana to overcome a numerical disadvantage and beat Germany in the match for third place at the FIFA U-17 World Cup Azerbaijan 2012. Just two minutes were on the clock when Vivien Beil found herself in space in the Africans' box, but her shot was well parried by Victoria Agyei. Thereafter, though, there was little noteworthy action until just after the half-hour, when Fatima Alhassan picked up her second yellow card within four minutes and, consequently, a red. Despite being a player down, it was Ghana who took the lead seven minutes before the break.
Manu dismisses Guinea fears ... As Eaglets tackle Junior Syli Stars G UINEA'S junior Syli Stars would certainly meet their waterloo on Sunday when they meet the Golden Eaglets of Nigeria at the U.J Esuene Sports Stadium in Calabar. The match which expectedly would kick off at 2:00 pm Nigerian time is a second round-first leg game in the 2003 African Under-17 qualifier towards participating at the forthcoming African Youth Championship to be hosted by Morocco. Speaking ahead of the game during a media session at the University of Calabar's Abraham Ordia Sports Stadium, the Golden
Eaglets' Head coach, Manu Garba (MFR), said he is confident that his team would win. " P r e s s u r e ? W h a t pressure?"Garba asked rhetorically."I don't know anything about pressure despite the fact that we know little about the Guinean team." Unlike the Golden Eaglets, this is Guinea's fist game in the 2013 Under-17 qualifier after enjoying a bye into the second round. " I don't agree with you that we are under any pressure simply because we beat Niger on a 10-1 aggregate in the first round rather, we are at an advantage to continue from where we stopped last time, “
Garba, a gifted midfielder in his heyday with El-Kanemi Warriors of Maiduguri said. “We duly respect our opponents and even if we are playing Chad, we are going to respect them. We are ready for Guinea and we are going to force them to play to our rhythm because we have a good team. “Since we started this campaign, we have shown that we are a high scoring side and we are going to continue in that tradition against Guinea on Sunday. “We want to score as many goals as possible without conceding any at home so that the job would be easier when we go for the return leg match in Conakry,” he added.
COPA LAGOS
Sand Eagles' captain commends organisers, sponsors
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Olawale
SIAKA Olawale, Captain of Nigeria's Beach Soccer team, believes that the Copa Lagos Beach Soccer tournament could be the driving force towards the growth of Beach Soccer on the continent. Olawale captained the Sand Eagle's to glory in last year's edition when they overcame former World Champions, Brazil in a final day showdown emerging with a 9-4 score line. “Playing in the Copa Lagos last year really helped the team a lot especially in getting exposure for Beach Soccer,” Olawale who was amongst the goal in the final game against Brazil said. “Nobody believed Nigeria could host and win the tournament, this has given us great confidence. A lot of people now have an interest in
Beach Soccer, especially after we defeated Brazil in the final,” he noted. Kinetic Sports, organisers of Copa Lagos, have reportedly said that they plan to expand the tournament by integrating sponsors such as FCMB. “I believe if we can start a league in Nigeria it will help the country a lot, it will help to discover new talent and it will also help us to get sponsorship to improve our training,”Olawale said about the efforts of the organisers. The 3-day tournament would kick off on the 14th December and ends on the 16th. Three teams have been confirmed, Nigeria, Argentina and Lebanon. Excitement continues to surround the confirmation of the final team for this announcement.
Manu
‘Birthday boy’ Abubakar begs Eaglets' mates
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OLDEN Eaglets agile goalkeeper, Adamu Abubakar, has made a clarion call to his teammates not to mess up his birthday by beating Guinea in Sunday's African Under-17 qualifier. Abubakar marks his birthday every October 15th which coincidentally comes up on Monday-a day after the Golden Eaglets' second round-first leg home match against their Guinean counterparts. “I'm optimistic about our chances against Guinea and I have told my teammates to beat them silly when we play against them on Sunday,” stated Abubakar who made his maiden Golden Eaglets' appearance in the 6-0 defeat of Niger last month.