Two teams that have no history at this stage seek a final push to qualify for the final
The Nigeria national U-17 women's team, the Flamingos have exceeded all expectations on their way to a first-ever semifinal appearance and on the road to history; they have been brave, clinical, and lucky.
When they file out to the Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium pitch on Wednesday, 26 October, they will face Colombia, who are also at this stage for the first time in their history.
Unfamiliar territory
While Nigeria have qualified for the quarter-final stage thrice, this is Colombia's first-ever foray beyond the group stage. On the road to the semis, both countries won three and lost one of their matches. While Colombia scored seven goals and conceded two; Nigeria scored eight times and conceded thrice.
History
Nigeria and Colombia attended the first tournament hosted by New Zealand in 2008, and both countries failed to make it into the second round. Nigeria came third in Group D, while Colombia came last in Group A.
The Flamingos made a marked improvement in Trinidad and Tobago in 2010 as they won all three group games to top Group A. Colombia failed to qualify. The Flamingos then lost a hard-fought quarter-final 6-5 to South Korea, after extra time.
In the 2012 edition in Azerbaijan, Nigeria again topped their Group A with seven points, and scored 15 goals, conceding just one. Colombia were again absent. The Nigerians faced France in the quarter-finals where they lost 5-3 on penalties.
In Costa Rica in 2015, the Flamingos again topped their group, which included Mexico, China, and Colombia. The Nigerian ladies beat Colombia 2-1, after conceding the first goal to Angel Rodriguez, after just three minutes. But again, the quarter-final stage proved too hard to breach as they promptly lost 3-0 to Spain, who lost 2-0 to Japan in the final.
There was a drastic downturn in 2017 in Jordan as the Flamingos flamed out in the group stage. They finished bottom of Group C with just one point while Colombia failed to qualify. The poor fortunes continued in 2019 when the team, for the first time, failed to qualify from Africa.
Colombia were present in Uruguay in 2018 but did not make it out of the group phase. They came third in Group D, which included Spain, Canada, and South Korea. Spain won the tournament by beating Mexico 2-1 in the final before a crowd of 5,500.
Road to the semifinal
How the Flamingos can win
There is no greater Colombian threat than Linda Caicedo. The No.11 has scored four of the seven goals for Colombia in India and her goals have come in and outside the box.
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But Coach Bankole Olowookere has a solution in gangling defender Comfort Folorunsho, who must e detailed on a man-marking job as she has the ability to deal with the physicality and aggression of the Colombia captain.
Colombia have also shown their weakness to be crosses into their box. The times when they have been at their most fragile have been when crosses are lumped into their box.
Coach Olowookere should also task Opeyemi Ajakaye, the top scorer in qualifiers but yet to score in India, to continue making runs behind the defence and for Amina Bello and the midfielders Bisola Mosaku, Taiwo Afolabi, and Blessing Emmanuel to try as much as possible to break through the lines and support the attackers.
The Flamingos should also be ready for a physical battle but they must damp down any aggressive tackling that could lead to red cards.
