U.S. women’s national team head coach Tony DiCicco watched closely last night as Nigeria defeated North Korea in a tough 2-1 match in Los Angeles. The U.S. plays Nigeria in their second group match on June 24 in Chicago, then travels to Boston to take on North Korea on June 27. Here are Coach DiCicco’s thoughts on the match last night: On Nigeria’s Mercy Akide: “Mercy Akide really put on a show yesterday. She not only scored a rocket of a goal from a no-angle situation, but when they let in the equalizer, she was the one that lifted them up and led them to victory. She really distinguished herself as an international star yesterday.” On Nigeria: “Nigeria was very impressive in their win yesterday. They looked very fit and had great team speed, two things we expected. They are bringing some wonderful personalities to this tournament and are going to be a difficult team for us to play.” “I really liked their captain, Florence Omagbemi, and their sweeper, Eberechi Opara, was very active in the back as well. Again, they are a team with a lot of personality in their players and they put on a show … a very entertaining game. I think both of those teams should be proud of what they accomplished yesterday.” On North Korea: “As with Nigeria, I saw from them what I expected. They hung in there the whole game and a had chance to tie it right at the end. They are a team that is very technical, as most the Asian teams are, and they are pretty athletic and hard. But they are a team we are not really worrying about yet, because we are going to have our hands full with Nigeria on Thursday.”