Nigeria's 3-2 opening win over defending FIFA Under-17 Women's champions Korea DPR came as no surprise to the coach of the African side Peter Dedevbo, who believes his girls can hold their own against any team in the 2010 tournament.

Nigeria opened the scoring but had to come from behind late in the second half to pull off the win which Dedevbo attributed to the team's preparation.

"I am happy with the win. It is good for any team to win the first match in a competition," said the coach.

"It is not a surprise. Right from the start we knew we had to face the defending champions. We prepared very, very well and if we can hold DPR (Korea), we can hold any team," Dedevbo added.

The coach said his players were motivated by the under-20 team's near success in the FIFA Under-20 Women's World Cup in Germany, earlier this year when they lost to the hosts.

"The under-17 team is very determined."

Korea DPR's coach Ri Song Gun was disappointed with the loss but is optimistic about their next two matches.

The defending champions let in an early goal but fought their way back to go 2-1 up. However, their defence let them down in the end.

Looking ahead, Ri Song Gun said his team will have to strengthen their defence if they are to regroup and make it into the quarter-finals.

Korea DPR tackle Chile in their next match while Nigeria come up against Trinidad and Tobago.