The Nigeria U-17 Women’s National Team Head Coach Hakeem Busari praised Burkina Faso for the tactical approach they used during the Flamingos’ 2-0 victory at the WAFU-B U-17 Girls Cup in Côte d’Ivoire.

Speaking after the match, Busari explained that Burkina Faso sat deep and relied on their tactical plan, making it difficult for Nigeria to find spaces and convert their early chances.

“Burkina Faso were going to sit back and rely on the tactics they wanted to use in the game. Coincidentally, we were having the chances, but we could not convert them in the early minutes of the first half. That would have changed the game and the goal margin of our chances,” Busari said.

The Coach noted that because Nigeria could not take their early opportunities, Burkina Faso remained confident in their approach. The Burkinabe side relied more on long balls and defended deeper rather than trying to build their attacks through possession on the ground.

Busari admitted that the approach made the game difficult for the Flamingos and required patience from his young players.

“The tactics Burkina Faso tried to use against us made it a difficult game. We just had to be patient because we are dealing with young players. Some of the chances required them to play with calmness, but they were eventually wasted,” he explained.

According to Busari, Burkina Faso’s defensive strategy continued to work because Nigeria were unable to find an early breakthrough. The Flamingos eventually had to remain patient until they scored the opening goal, which forced their opponents to come out and created more space for Nigeria to play.

“The chances were being wasted and the tactics were working for the opponent until we got the difference of one goal. Then they needed to come out, and we could now play,” he added.

Despite the difficult encounter, Busari praised Burkina Faso for their performance and highlighted the quality of coaching across African football.

“For Africa, we have good technicians who can really come up with something,” he said, before acknowledging Burkina Faso’s ability to deal with Nigeria’s strengths.

The Flamingos eventually secured a 2-0 victory, with Mary Dunstan opening the scoring in the 82nd minute before Oluwakemi Adegbuyi added the second goal in added time.

Busari described the encounter as a good game from both sides as Nigeria maintained their perfect record with three victories from three matches.