Nigeria’s team which drew against Canada in 2022. Photo credit: Nigera – Super Falcons via Twitter.
Nigeria, otherwise known as The Super Falcons, will make another appearance in the World Cup this year in a bid to win progress from the group stage and register a first victory in the knockouts. However, preparation has been less than ideal with a domestic training camp being cancelled by the Federation and players also having to deal with financial turmoil. They face one of the toughest set of opponents in Group B, but the side is determined to use their experience and ambition to fly high against all adversity.
Team History and Squad Selection
Nigeria is no stranger to the group stage of the competition, having made an appearance at every edition. However, they have passed the group stage only twice. The first time was in the USA in 1999, where they upset Korea DPR and Denmark to progress, but then lost in a seven-goal thriller against Brazil in the quarter-finals where Sissi’s golden goal ended their hopes of progression. In 2019, Barcelona’s star Oshoala inspired a victory over Korean Republic to reach the knockout stages, before Germany ended their hopes with a thumping 3-0 defeat.
Coach Randy Waldrum generally prefers a 4-2-3-1 formation, with a fluid attack. In general, the selection has been as many expected, bar a couple of absentees. Ten of those selected by Waldrum competed in France in 2019, where the team advanced from the group stages. However, Rita Chikwelu and Ngozi Okobi are among those who will not return. Okobi’s omission drew attention with some questioning if Waldrum’s hands were forced due to the last-minute cancellation of a preparatory training camp by the Federation, as highlighted below. There are some new faces too, including Stade de Reims defender Oluwatosin Demehin who will be making her debut in a senior Women’s World Cup.
There are a few legends in the squad, with Onome Ebi making headlines as one of the oldest players in the tournament, alongside Canada’s Christine Sinclair, with both having hit forty years of age. Ebi will travel Down Under to make her sixth appearance at a major tournament, a feat that matches that of Brazilians Marta and Formiga, as well as Japanese legend Homare Sawa.
One cannot talk about Nigeria without mentioning Barcelona’s Asisat Oshoala. However, there is also plenty of promise in forward Uchenna Kanu who made her first appearance in 2019 and has been making strides since then. Rasheedat Ajibade also deserves a mention, having scored three goals in the Africa Cup of Nations in 2022 to aid Nigeria in securing a top-four finish. At the other end goalkeeper Chiamaka Nnadozie, who made her debut in 2019 and secured a move to Paris FC shortly after, will also be one to watch as the Super Falcons aim to shore up the goals and mount the attacks. She was a standout in the Nigerians’ Gold Medal victory in the African Games in 2019, saving three penalties to deny Cameroon the glory.
AUNZ Bound 🔥 #soarsuperfalcons pic.twitter.com/CgYLuF3kC5
— NGSuper_Falcons (@NGSuper_Falcons) June 16, 2023
Road to the FIFA Women’s World Cup
Nigeria qualified by finishing in the top four in the 2022 TotalEnergies Women’s Africa Cup of Nations, held in Morocco. The side recently played a friendly against first-time qualifiers Haiti and won 2-1, before emerging victorious by 3-0 against co-hosts New Zealand.
However, since April, the Nigerian Football Federation cancelled a ten-to-twelve-day preparatory training camp ahead of the World Cup. Coach Randy Waldrum has blown his horn on the lack of support received and the impact of this decision on his selection and team preparation. In fact, the coach lamented having to pick out his squad selection based on the last training camp and being blinded to the physical condition of his players due to the lack of the camp.
The lack of support by the Federation extends beyond this. The players had to boycott a third-place playoff against Zambia in the Women’s African Cup of Nations because of not getting paid. Speaking to the Mirror, the coach revealed that the situation was pacified by the federation just the night before the game. However, the side still faces plenty of backlash from the authority, with backup goalkeeper Tochukwu Oluehi being completely cut out from the national team by the Federation for her criticism of the system.
This was not the first time that the team has been fighting for their pay either. During the last tournament in France, the players threatened a sit-in protest because of unpaid salaries and bonuses following their round of sixteen defeat against Germany.
WWC Group B
The side faces tricky opponents in the group, including hosts Australia who are amongst the top ten nations in the world and will have the crowd on their side, together with Olympic gold medalists Canada. The Republic of Ireland has several gladiators on the pitch who will want to make their mark including the likes of Katie McCabe, Ruesha Littlejohn and Izzy Atkinson.
However, Nigeria will fancy their chances and will take heart from the fact that in 2022 they drew 2-2 with Canada and lost by only 2-1 to defending champions USA. The Super Falcons have landed in Australia and kicked off preparations. They open their tournament commitments against Canada on July 21st at the Rectangular Stadium in Melbourne.
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