WOMEN'S FOOTBALL
Like Waldrum in Nigeria’s NFF, Riise in Norway’s NFF becomes the latest of Women’s World Cup coaching casualties
It is barely two weeks since the 2023 Women’s World Cup ended, some of the coaches that led teams have been thrown into the labour markets.
In Nigeria, Randy Waldrum’s contract was not renewed, despite the Super Falcons exceeding wildest imagination and almost got into the quarter-finals.
The Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) did not renew his contract. Another NFF, this time, the Norges Fotballforbund Forside (Norway Football Federation in English) announced parting ways with Coach Hege Riise making her the latest manager to lose job following the recent Women’s World Cup in Australia and New Zealand.
Brazil parted ways with Swede Pia Sundhage earlier this week, while the contract of Ireland coach Vera Pauw was not renewed, despite her leading the country to the finals of their first major women’s tournament.
Even cup-winning coach, Jorge Vilda is not spared the axe. Spain’s football federation (RFEF) is preparing to sack him.
Since the end of the tournament, 10 of the 32 nations have parted ways with their coach, and players from Spain, who won the World Cup for the first time, have said they will not play for coach Jorge Vilda again, amid the fallout from a kiss scandal involving his boss, federation chief Luis Rubiales.
Norway suffered a shock 1-0 loss to co-hosts New Zealand in their opening game and then Riise benched star winger Caroline Graham Hansen for their second group match, a goalless draw with Switzerland.
Graham Hansen’s angry comments after that game grabbed the headlines in Norway and though she was reinstated for the final group game against the Philippines, which they won, they were then outclassed in a defeat to Japan in the last 16.
The subsequent evaluation of Norway’s performance has seen Riise – arguably the country’s greatest female player and a World Cup winner in 1995 – move into a new role in the NFF promoting the women’s game.
“Through the evaluation work and in conversations with Hege Riise, we have seen that we have differing views on the role of the national team coach for this team,” NFF president Lise Klaveness – herself a former international – said in a statement.
Once a superpower in the women’s game, Norway now face the prospect of finding a new coach in an ultra-competitive market, and the new Nations League is looming at the end of September.
“The federation board is working to put in place a temporary solution for the autumn games in the Nations League. The solution will be presented as soon as it is ready,” the NFF said in a statement.
Spain thrashed England 4-0 to move a step closer to automatic qualification for next year’s Women’s World Cup finals, with Germany booking their spot thanks to a comfortable 2-0 home win over Norway in the penultimate round of European qualifiers on Friday.
With the top teams from each of the four A groups qualifying automatically, Germany’s win gave them an unassailable four-point lead over Norway in Group A4 with one game left, while Spain and England are both locked on 12 points at the top of Group A3.
England’s hopes of securing a spot with a win in Mallorca were quickly snuffed out, with Patri Guijarro giving the Spaniards the lead in the 19th minute and Alexia Putellas making it 2-0 before the break.
There appeared to be nothing England could do to stop the Spanish juggernaut, with Putellas adding a second goal 10 minutes after the break and Claudio Pina putting the icing on the cake with a goal from a superb pass by Aitana Bonmati to make it 4-0.
England retain a chance of qualifying directly, but they will have to get a better result when they host Ukraine next Tuesday than Spain manage in their final fixture away to Iceland.
There was late drama in Group A2 as Ireland’s Amber Barrett netted a 90th-minute goal to snatch a 3-2 home win over the Netherlands to move above the Dutch and into second place in the group, one point behind leaders France, who beat Poland 2-0.
The Irish play France in their final game in Grenoble, with the Dutch taking on Poland at home.
Earlier, Pernille Harder came off the bench and scored the winner for Denmark as they downed neighbours Sweden 2-1 to end the Swedes’ hopes of qualifying directly.
The Danes top Group A1 on 11 points ahead of their final game against bottom side Serbia, while second-placed Italy, who are three points behind the leaders, next host Sweden.
-Reuters
By Kunle Solaja.
Nigeria’s Falconets have been handed a challenging but promising draw for the FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup in Poland after they were placed in Group F alongside former champions Spain, China PR and debutants New Caledonia.
The draw for the 12th edition of the FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup was conducted in Lodz on Thursday, setting the stage for the tournament scheduled to run from 5 to 27 September across four Polish cities.
Nigeria, one of Africa’s most successful teams at the competition, will face a stern opening-round test against European powerhouse Spain, which won the title in Costa Rica in 2022. China PR also brings a considerable pedigree to the group, while New Caledonia will be making their maiden appearance at the global finals.
The Falconets will be hoping to improve on their performance at the last edition and rekindle memories of their best outings, when they reached the final in 2010 and 2014.
Hosts Poland headline Group A alongside Argentina, Benin and Mexico, while defending champions Korea DPR begin their title defence in Group E against Colombia, Costa Rica and Portugal.
Other intriguing group-stage fixtures include Brazil, England, Canada and Tanzania in Group B, while France, Korea Republic, Ghana and Ecuador make up Group C. Group D features former champions Japan and USA alongside New Zealand and Italy.
The full draw is as follows:
- Group A: Poland, Mexico, Argentina, Benin
- Group B: Brazil, England, Canada, Tanzania
- Group C: France, Korea Republic, Ghana, Ecuador
- Group D: Japan, USA, New Zealand, Italy
- Group E: Korea DPR, Colombia, Costa Rica, Portugal
- Group F: Spain, Nigeria, China PR, New Caledonia
The tournament will mark Poland’s first major global women’s football event, with matches to be played in Bielsko-Biała, Katowice, Lodz and Sosnowiec.
Six nations — Benin, Ecuador, New Caledonia, Poland, Portugal and Tanzania — will make their debut appearances, while Korea DPR and the USA are both chasing a record fourth title.
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Nigeria’s Falconets will discover their opponents for the 2026 FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup when the official draw is conducted in Łódź, Poland, on May 15, as preparations intensify for another campaign on the global stage.
The draw ceremony, confirmed by football’s world governing body, FIFA, will take place in one of the tournament’s host cities and will be broadcast live worldwide on FIFA+, YouTube and TikTok.
Nigeria, one of the most successful nations in the history of the competition, heads into the draw with renewed ambition after securing qualification for the tournament, which will run from September 5 to 27 across the Polish cities of Bielsko-Biała, Katowice, Łódź and Sosnowiec.
The Falconets remain one of Africa’s strongest representatives at the FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup, having reached the final twice in the competition’s history. The Nigerian side will now await the outcome of the draw to know their group-stage opponents among the 24 qualified teams expected to battle for the title.
Former Polish international and current women’s national team coach Nina Patalon and French football legend Laura Georges will participate in the ceremony, underscoring the growing profile of women’s football globally.
Speaking ahead of the event, Patalon described the draw as a defining moment for both participating teams and supporters.
“The draw always brings a special sense of excitement, as it is the moment when the competition truly starts to feel real for both the teams and the fans,” she said.
She also highlighted the importance of hosting the tournament in Poland, noting that it could inspire more young girls to embrace football and further accelerate the development of the women’s game in the country.
The 12th edition of the FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup is expected to showcase some of the brightest emerging talents in women’s football, with Nigeria’s Falconets aiming to make another strong impression on the world stage
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