International Football
FRANCE 2019: NIGERIA’S COACH, DENNERBY PREPARING FOR THE GAME OF HIS LIFE
According to FIFA.com, preparation is everything when it comes to succeeding at a FIFA Women’s World Cup™ This is a fact Thomas Dennerby is very much aware of. He took over as head coach of Nigeria’s women’s national team in January 2018 and jumped at the chance to take his team to the Cyprus Cup.
“First of all I was
very happy that we had this opportunity,” the Swede told FIFA.com.
“Playing at a tournament like this is extremely important for a team like
the Super Falcons. We played against teams that are ranked a bit higher. That
gave us a lot of experience.”
Nigeria met Austria, Slovakia, Belgium and Thailand at the competition.
“We were a bit unlucky in the first game [against Austria] and we can almost forget about it. We got a red card just after six minutes, but actually we did well in the first half.
“But when you play with only ten players for such a long time then you start to get tired.” That proved to be costly for his side, who eventually slipped to a 4-1 defeat.
“If you look at the games after that, we played really well against Slovakia in the first half, but we lost a bit of concentration in the second,” Dennerby continued.
“There were three penalties in the last 20 minutes, but we won 4-3. Our attacking play in that game was good. We had some really nice link-ups.
“I think our match against Belgium was probably our weakest game. We were very slow, we didn’t react and only acted after something had happened. We were better in our final match against Thailand – we worked more as a team again.
“If you put the game against Austria to one side, then we only let in one goal from open play. But I’m sorry to say that for different reasons we conceded too many goals from set pieces.”
That has left the 59-year-old and his coaching staff with plenty of work still to do, and not only in defence. “We definitely need to work on our attacking play,” he said.
“It’s one thing to score four times against Slovakia and three times against Thailand, but when you go to a World Cup where we will play against Norway, Korea Republic and France, it will be a totally new challenge for the players.
“We need to work on creating chances against the best teams. We need to work on our build-up play and trying to give the players more confidence on the ball.”
If that is a big challenge for the squad, it is for the coaching staff too: the players are extremely loyal to them, but are reluctant to make any mistakes.
“They really want to do the best and do the right thing,” said Dennerby, who guided Sweden to third place at the 2011 Women’s World Cup. “I’m not saying they don’t do that in Europe, but in Nigeria they’re more extreme. It’s good in many ways, but also very heavy on their shoulders because they want to be so loyal.
“They need to feel free, that they can make mistakes. They will get a smile from the coach anyway.”
It is a smile intended to give his Super Falcons self-belief as they look to learn and grow from their errors. After all, fortune favours the bold.
“We have a really tough group, no doubt about it,” Dennerby said. “I think we have a really good chance to have a good game against Norway and also against South Korea.
“And hopefully, if I can dream a little, three of four points when we come to the final match against France so that we can have that feeling of: ‘Wow this is a once-in-a-lifetime game against the host nation.’ If I were still a player, it would be the game of my life.”
Nigeria’s Super Eagles were held to a 2-2 draw by FIFA World Cup-bound Jordan in an eventful international friendly in Antalya on Tuesday night, with the contest overshadowed by a late red card to Alex Iwobi.
Iwobi, making his 98th appearance for the national team, was sent off in the closing stages, capping a dramatic encounter in which Nigeria surrendered a first-half lead and finished the game with ten men.
The match, played at the Mardan Sports Complex, brought Nigeria’s March international window to a close, but it proved anything but routine as both sides delivered a fiercely contested and entertaining clash.
Jordan, ranked 64th in the world and enjoying strong recent form, struck first in the 17th minute through Mousa Tamari. A well-worked free-kick routine caught the Nigerian defence napping, allowing the forward to fire home the opener.
Nigeria responded quickly and thought they had equalised six minutes later when Raphael Onyedika finished from a Moses Simon cut-back, but the goal was controversially ruled out.
The Super Eagles eventually drew level in the 30th minute. Stand-in captain Moses Simon, earning his 97th cap, reacted fastest after Ademola Lookman’s effort was blocked, slotting home with a composed left-footed finish for his second goal in as many matches.
Nigeria went ahead four minutes before halftime when Bright Osayi-Samuel’s pinpoint cross found debutant Emmanuel Fernandez, who showed great composure to control and finish, giving the three-time African champions a 2-1 lead at the interval.
The second half took on a more physical tone, with goalkeeper Francis Uzoho forced off in the 57th minute after sustaining an injury while clearing the ball. Adebayo Adeleye replaced him between the posts.
Head coach Eric Chelle introduced Wilfred Ndidi and Alex Iwobi to shore up the midfield, but Jordan continued to press and were rewarded with an equaliser in the 77th minute.
Nigeria pushed for a winner late on, handing a senior debut to Philip Otele, while Samuel Chukwueze came on for Moses Simon. However, the closing moments were marred by Iwobi’s dismissal, leaving the Super Eagles to see out the match with ten men.
Despite the draw, the encounter offered valuable insights for the coaching crew as Nigeria continues preparations for the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers.
Join the Sports Village Square channel on WhatsApp: https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029Vaz7mEIGk1FxU8YIXb0H
By Kunle Solaja
Match Context
- Fixture: Jordan vs Nigeria
- Venue: Antalya, Turkey
- Occasion: Four-Nation Invitational Tournament
- Kick-off: Tuesday (evening)
They would have loved facing Jamaica in Mexico today for a place at the World Cup, but fate has other plans, and Nigeria’s Super Eagles will be taking on World Cup debutants Jordan in a friendly match instead in Turkey.
The encounter promises to be a revealing contest for both sides as preparations intensify for future global assignments.
The encounter, staged as part of a four-nation tournament in Turkey, will be the third meeting between the two countries, with the head-to-head record finely poised.
History Beckons in Third Meeting
Nigeria claimed a 2-0 victory in their first clash at the National Stadium, Lagos, on 28 April 2004 during the LG Cup.
However, the tables turned in 2013 when a largely experimental Nigerian side under the late Stephen Keshi suffered a 1-0 defeat in Amman, courtesy of a Hatem Aqel penalty.
This latest meeting now serves as the decider in what has quietly become a balanced rivalry.
Jordan arrive in buoyant mood, riding on the crest of a historic achievement, which is their first-ever qualification for the FIFA World Cup (2026).
Jordan’s Al-Nashama
Their recent form underlines a team growing in confidence and tactical discipline. In the past months, Al-Nashama have:
- Held Russia (0-0)
- Defeated Dominican Republic (3-0)
- Drawn with Mali (0-0)
- Narrowly lost to Bolivia (1-0) and Albania (4-2)
- Pushed Tunisia (3-2 loss) in a competitive encounter
They also opened this invitational tournament with a 2-2 draw against Costa Rica, further evidence of their resilience.
The team’s preparations have been boosted by a morale-lifting visit from Prince Ali bin Al-Hussein, President of the Jordan Football Association, during their Antalya training camp.
Coach Jamal Al-Salami has deliberately scheduled matches against Nigeria and Costa Rica, citing their stylistic similarity to World Cup opponents such as Argentina, Austria, and Algeria.
Despite missing several key players, including star forward Mousa Ta’mari, Jordan have continued to show depth, blending senior players with youth prospects as part of a broader developmental strategy.
Nigeria head into the clash with renewed confidence after a 2-1 victory over Iran in their opening game of the tournament, with goals from Moses Simon and Akor Adams.
Unlike previous meetings, the Super Eagles are expected to field a full-strength squad, packed with Europe-based stars, something Jordanian observers have already described as a “heavyweight challenge.”
The squad boasts a blend of experience and attacking flair.
The presence of multiple attacking options gives Nigeria a clear edge going forward, while their physicality and pace could pose serious problems for the Jordanians.
Jordan are expected to adopt a compact, disciplined shape, relying on quick transitions and defensive organisation, qualities that earned them results against stronger opposition in recent friendlies.
Nigeria, by contrast, will likely dominate possession, using width and individual brilliance to break down Jordan’s defensive lines.
The key battle may lie in midfield, where Jordan’s structure will be tested against Nigeria’s blend of strength, technique, and tempo.
For Jordan, this is another step in fine-tuning a squad preparing for its historic World Cup debut—a chance to measure themselves against elite opposition.
For Nigeria, it is an opportunity to assert authority, build cohesion among its star-studded squad, and maintain momentum ahead of more competitive fixtures.
Join the Sports Village Square channel on WhatsApp: https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029Vaz7mEIGk1FxU8YIXb0H
A clash of kit colours caused confusion for players and made it difficult for fans watching on TV to tell the teams apart as World Cup co-hosts, the U.S., were accused of being responsible for a mix-up in a 5-2 friendly defeat by Belgium on Saturday.
Both teams used the match to launch the new kit they will wear at the June 11 to July 19 World Cup, which is also being held in Canada and Mexico.
The U.S. sported a design that pulls directly from the red and white stripes in the American flag, while Belgium wore their away kit, which was light blue with pink accents.
“Sometimes you had to look twice, especially if you wanted to play quickly,” Belgian winger Jeremy Doku told his national television afterwards. “I would have preferred clearer colours.”
American captain Christian Pulisic said it was difficult to deal with.
“A lot of times you get the ball, and you look up, you can’t really lock in on something. You can only base it on the colour of the shirt. That’s how it works,” he told reporters. “And when it’s very similar, it’s difficult.”
Belgian television apologised to viewers after the match, with analyst and former Belgian international Marc Degryse criticising organisers.
“Football is a product that needs to be sold. Everything always has to be better and better, yet they still managed to make the match annoying with the jerseys,” he said.
“This goes completely against the whole commercial aspect. This is really unacceptable.”
US Soccer said pictures of both jerseys were sent to match referees before the match, and at no time did they indicate they felt there was a conflict.
Belgian media said on Sunday the fault lay with the hosts, who insisted on playing in their new red and white jerseys, which clashed with both Belgium’s first-choice red strip and also the lighter away kit.
Both countries wanted to unveil their new jerseys for the first time, but after becoming aware of the situation, Belgium proposed to play in their traditional red, the reports said.
However, that was not an option because the U.S. shirt also contains a lot of red. One solution could have been for the U.S. to play in their dark blue kit, but that did not fit into their commercial plan, the reports added.
-Reuters
Join the Sports Village Square channel on WhatsApp: https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029Vaz7mEIGk1FxU8YIXb0H
- World Cup7 days ago
World Cup Fans, Players And Officials Face $15,000 Visa Bonds to Enter U.S.
- AFCON4 days ago
AFCON to Expand to 28 Teams as CAF Unveils New Competition Calendar
- World Cup2 days ago
Infantino promises FIFA backing for Iran to play at World Cup
- World Cup1 week ago
Absent Giants: Big Football Nations Missing from the 2026 World Cup
- AFCON4 days ago
CAF May Sanction Senegal Over AFCON Trophy Parade
- World Cup6 days ago
Jamaica Edge New Caledonia to Set Up Decisive World Cup Showdown with DR Congo
- Governing Bodies4 days ago
BREAKING! Nigeria’s Samson Adamu Appointed Acting CAF General Secretary
- Table Tennis3 days ago
Aruna Faces Tough Draw as Africa Targets Glory at ITTF World Cup in Macao