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Nigeria stars reflect on U-17 introduction
- Updated: September 22, 2016
Millions of footballers all over the world dream of one day playing on the global stage, but most never achieve that goal. Nigeria’s Desire Oparanozie and Ebere Orji have not only achieved that, they have done so at different levels and between them, the two have appeared at an astonishing 10 World Cups – five each!
It started for both of them in 2008, when they were a part of the Flamingoes side that competed in New Zealand at the inaugural FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup. Aged just 14, Orji was the youngest player in the squad and Oparanozie was just a year older. She still recalls their first game against Korea Republic. “We got off to a winning start and that is a wonderful memory to have. We had a great side in that tournament and should have advanced to the second round.” Orji’s lasting memories of her time in New Zealand is the beauty of the countryside. “Being so young, I had not traveled widely and to see this beautiful country with the sea surrounding, it was a wonderful experience. I had not seen anything like that before.” After their 2-1 win against the Koreans in the first match, Nigeria were beaten 1-0 by England in their second game, setting up a decisive clash against Brazil, which they needed to win to stay in the competition. The game against Brazil is a match both would prefer not to remember. “We knew that we would probably have to win the game to progress, but I was injured and could not play. That was very frustrating, sitting on the sidelines and not being …
