The Super Falcons of Nigeria will begin their quest in the ongoing FIFA Women’s World Cup in Canada on Monday, June 8 with their first Group D match against Sweden. The match comes up at the Winnipeg Stadium, Winnipeg.
Nigeria, Cameroon and Cote d’Ivoire are representing Africa at the World Cup which kicked off on Saturday, June 6.
The Africa champions qualified for the World Cup last October 22 after triumph over the Indomitable Lioness of Cameroon in the final of the CAF African Women’s Championship while Cote d’Ivoire rounded out the trio headed to Canada by finishing third after beating South Africa 1-0 on October 25.
This is Nigeria’s seventh appearance in the tournament, having qualified for each previous edition of the competition
Nigeria’s best performance was at USA ‘99 when they were knocked out in the quarterfinals by Brazil after finishing second in their group.
But this time around, top striker and BBC Women’s Footballer of the Year, Asisat Oshoala is optimistic that the Super Falcons would not disappoint as they have a point to prove at the tournament.
She said: “We can’t go to the World Cup to merely add to the numbers, but we’re going there to participate and to prove a point. I can’t say right away how far we’ll go at the World Cup, but I’m positive we won’t disappoint Nigerians when hostilities start in Canada. We have quality and experienced players in our midst who can turn things around,”
Oshoala played at the last two Under-20 World Cup competitions and won the Golden Ball and Golden Boot award at Canada 2014. Nigeria will be hoping that the two players can take their form from Namibia to Canada.
The Super Falcons defence will undoubtedly have more to do in Canada than they did in Namibia and Coach Edwin Okon can depend on veteran Onome Ebi and Osinachi Ohale to marshal the defence.
Coach Okon has picked his best players for the tournament and he is expected to field only the best among the best for the group matches so that the team can qualify for the next stage of the tournament.
After Monday’s match against the Swedes, the Super Falcons second group match will be against Australia on Friday, June 12 at the same Winnipeg Stadium, Winnipeg while the last group match will be against USA on Tuesday, June 16 at the BC Place Stadium, Vancouver.
Nigeria have dominated women’s football on the continent since the African Women’s Championship (AWC) was first staged. The Super Falcons have won seven of nine tournaments and the two times they have not won the competition it did not double as a qualifying tournament for the FIFA Women’s World Cup. Their overall record at the AWC is a remarkable 36 wins and five draws in 45 matches.
They secured their ticket to Canada by winning the ninth AWC in Namibia in October, winning all five matches they played, scoring 16 goals in the process and conceding just three.
