Flamingos Coach Busari Says Team Still Has Room for Improvement After 6-0 Win Over Guinea

Flamingos head coach Akeem Busari has praised his players for their growth and character after Nigeria's impressive 6-0 win over Guinea. But he insists the team still needs to work on some areas before the next round of the FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup qualifiers.

Nigeria played strongly to overpower the Guinean team, making a big step toward qualification. But despite the big score, Busari thinks this win is just one part of the team’s ongoing growth, not the final result.

In an interview with PREMIUM TIMES after the match, the coach said the performance shows a young team slowly getting used to his tactics while improving with each game.

Busari pointed out that this Flamingos squad is still quite new and learning how to effectively play the style of football the coaching staff wants to implement.

He said the main goal is to help the players understand how to move smoothly from defense to attack while using space better and making smarter choices when they have the ball.

"For football artistry, like I just said, it’s all about progression. Progression in the sense that this is a new team and all they want to do is, they are young, they want to play, they want to excel, they have the talent," Busari told Premium Times.

"We just want to guide and let them see how they can transition off from the defense line to the midfield and the attackers and for them to be able to exploit the spaces when they have advantage."

The coach also mentioned that the squad's physical strength and lively mentality are key strengths that helped their great performance.

"And the beauty of this is that this is a team with a character, more vibrant and equally with high strength," he added.

Busari explained that the game plan was to counter Guinea’s physical style by using more ball possession, movement, and quick passing. Instead of getting into a physical fight, the Flamingos aimed to control the ball, create space, and play fast in the opponent's half.

"So we’ll be able to use what we have against what they have. So it’s working well for them because it’s all about counterproductive," he said.

"So for them, they are more physical in nature, so we need to use more of the ball."

He added that they focused on using space and playing quick passes in Guinea’s half. "So those are the things that are the key ways for this kind of game. So it’s a good one for both sides."

The Flamingos coach quickly dismissed any idea that Guinea were weak opponents, noting their strong scoring record before facing Nigeria.

"The Guineans were not a bad side as well because you look at what they played in their last game against Niger Republic. They are a high-scoring side too, they won 8-2 on aggregate."

"So this was just a reflection of hard work and a team of progression."

Despite the convincing win, Busari believes there is still a lot of work ahead. He recognized that every team has its strengths and weaknesses and said improving tactical discipline, movement, and attacking transitions is still a top priority.

"For football, it’s all about game and for every game, there’s always the beginning of another strategic game," he explained.

"For this, we are pleased. We still believe we have a lot of shortcoming but we also have a lot of strong points."

He added, "All we need to do is try to draw a training scenario towards it, work more harder ahead of what we are able to do now, because there’s no balance there. For everything, once you have a strong point, you must have your deficiency."

Busari said the coaching team will keep teaching the players gradually, focusing on discipline, movement, tactical awareness, and quick attacking transitions.

"We are still working more on the players, try to incite them on what discipline is all about, tell them your current views about the game, and let them see how they can transition quickly into attacking force in terms of passing drill, in terms of movement, in terms of taking advantage, in terms of using their tactics right."

He also stressed that coaching young players comes with unique challenges. He said it's important to introduce information slowly so as not to overwhelm them.

"But like a new team, we get to work more on them and they are youths. And you don’t bore them with a lot of information at a point in time.

"Gradual information from lessons comes in. They develop when they play more games to be able to correct and incorrect."

Busari said continuing to work in smaller groups, tactical units, and team-building exercises will help fix many of the issues seen, even with the big win.

"So these are what we normally notice when we are dealing with younger age."

"With the younger age we have, we notice all these problems, so we still go back, work more in progress, try to work more in pieces, in pairs, in groups and on team cohesion."

"So all these lapses you have noticed will be enhanced and performance will come on the team."

While the 6-0 win showed Nigeria’s attacking skills and potential, Busari’s message is clear: the Flamingos are still a work in progress, and the journey to becoming a complete team is far from over.