Lone Star Under-17 women team is into the next round of the Federation of International Football Association (FIFA) women’s World Cup qualifiers after edging out Senegal last Sunday.
The girls in the red, white and blue national colors got into the match with a mountain to climb, created by a 3-1 loss to the opponent in the first leg of their fixture played in Senegal. Despite losing 3-1 away that time, Liberia eliminated Senegal on Sunday, May 19, on away goals in the third round of the 2024 FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup Qualifiers, with a 2-0 home victory at the Samuel Kanyon Doe Sports Complex in Paynesville.
Louise Brown, who scored Liberia’s only goal in the first-leg from the penalty spot, scored again from the same spot on 45+3 minutes to give her team a 1-0 lead going into halftime.
Before the halftime whistle, goalkeeper Makula Konneh made a brilliant save, denying Senegal the equalizer.
Liberia kept pilling the pressure on the Senegalese as they maintained their dominance and created more chances in search of the second goal.
The second goal was finally scored in the 54th minute when striker Delphine Galo broke free to finish a brilliant volley, leaving the Senegalese goalkeeper with no chance.
With high hopes of advancing to the next round, Coach Sekou Manubah and his girls approached Sunday’s game with confidence and dominated their opponents to achieve their ultimate goal.
“I am sure every Liberian is feeling like I am feeling right now, very excited. Seeing Liberians celebrate this victory means a lot, so I am super excited,” Coach Manubah said in his post-match interview.
“We were courageous even in Dakar when we were down. This is youth football, and one key thing that is important in youth football is passion, so we have to ensure that the kids are motivated,” Galo said.
Coach Manubah has, at the same time, called on Liberians to rally behind the team in order to help them qualify for the World Cup.
This is the first time Liberia has achieved such a feat that is being proudly celebrated. However, with Nigeria as their next opponents in the fourth round, Coach Manubah and his girls now have a challenging task.
Nigeria have made six appearances at the FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup, and their best performance was in 2022, when they finished as third place winners.
The Dominican Republic will host the 2024 FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup from October 16 to November 3, 2024. Three qualified teams from Africa will compete in the competition.
