WOMEN'S FOOTBALL
Women’s World Cup: Nigeria face acid test against Olympic champions Canada in opener
In a few hours time, the Super Falcons of Nigeria will face their toughest test yet at the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup when they take on Olympic gold medalists Canada in their opening group match on Friday.
The contest at the Melbourne Rectangular Stadium represents a chance for the African heavyweights to make a statement against one of the pre-tournament favorites.
Arriving in Australia on the back of a fourth-place finish at the Women’s Africa Cup of Nations last year, the Super Falcons are eager to show they can match it with the world’s elite.
Much will depend on captain Asisat Oshoala rediscovering her best form. The reigning CAF Women’s Footballer of the Year is a prolific striker capable of unlocking any defence on her day.
The Barcelona superstar will be looking to outfox centre-backs Kadeisha Buchanan and Vanessa Gilles, pillars of a stout Canadian backline.
“When you have Oshoala, you have a chance against any team,” Nigeria coach Randy Waldrum said ahead of Friday’s match.
“Canada are the Olympics Gold medalists and we know they are going to be very good. We played them twice the last year and have a lot of respect for them.
“They are a very good side, very well coached, but I think we can have the ability to be successful if we perform and stick to our gameplan.
“Obviously, the weather in Melbourne is going to be a little bit of a factor, it’s colder than we’re used to, but it’s a 12:30 kick-off, so that should help a little bit.“
In midfield, Rita Chikwelu’s combativeness and distribution will be key if Nigeria is to disrupt Canada’s rhythm and supply Oshoala up front.
-CAF
WOMEN'S FOOTBALL
What a goal-laden day for Nigeria; Falconets also win with wide margin!
Nigeria Super Falconets gave Nigerians additional joy after their 4-0 defeat of Venezuela in Cali, Colombia in their last group match. Their victory followed up with an earlier 3-0 win by the Super Eagles in their opening Group D match with Benin Republic in Uyo.
The Falconets’ win means they have qualified for the Round of 16 where they are most likely going to face Japan when the group games are completed on Sunday.
Both Nigeria and Germany tied on six points, but Germany have one goal better than Nigeria on goal difference.
The Super Falcons made early hays when Amina Bello put Nigeria ahead after 16 minutes. Chiamaka Okwuchukwu doubled the lead in the 28th minute before Flourish Sebastine put in the third five minutes into the added time of the first half. Joy Igbokwe put in the back breaker four minutes into the added time of the second hald.
WOMEN'S FOOTBALL
Okwuchukwu shines despite Nigeria’s defeat to Germany in U-20 Women’s World Cup
Nigeria’s U-20 Women’s World Cup campaign suffered a setback as they fell to a 3-1 defeat against a clinical German side in Bogota, Colombia on Wednesday night.
The result secures Germany’s place in the knockout stages, while leaving the Falconets with work to do in their final group match.
In an end-to-end encounter, both sides created numerous chances, but it was Germany who struck first. Cora Zicai’s pinpoint cross found Alara Sehitler, who nodded home in the 17th minute to give the Europeans the lead.
Nigeria’s star performer, Chiamaka Okwuchukwu, had earlier come close to opening the scoring with a magnificent solo run, only to be denied by German goalkeeper Rebecca Adamczyk.
Okwuchukwu’s persistence paid off early in the second half when she capitalized on a defensive mix-up to draw Nigeria level, celebrating with Cristiano Ronaldo’s famous ‘siuuu’ celebration.
However, Germany’s quality shone through as they regained the lead through Sofie Zdebel, again assisted by the impressive Zicai.
Despite Okwuchukwu having another goal ruled out for offside, Germany sealed the win in stoppage time with Sarah Ernst’s powerful header.
The defeat leaves Nigeria on three points from two matches, with their final group game against Venezuela in Cali now crucial to their hopes of progressing.
WOMEN'S FOOTBALL
Points of Note in Falconets’ loss to Germany
Germany beat Nigeria’s Falconets 3-1 in their second group game of the FIFA U-20 World Cup. With Germany’s win, the Europeans have made it to the last 16 stage, even with a game to spare.
The coach of Germany, Kathrin Peter acknowledged the efforts of the Nigerian team , saying: “It was a really tough match today.
“That was expected, but we actually had big problems in defence. They had a few chances where we had the necessary luck, we have to admit that.
“But in the second half we were really good and asserted our dominance and I think we deserved to win in the end.”
Here are some major points:
- Germany beat Nigeria 2-0 in the final match 14 years ago in Germany.
- Germany have now won their last four FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup meetings with Nigeria. Alex Popp inspired a 2-0 victory in the 2010 final, Lena Petermann settled the decider in extra-time four year later, and Stefanie Sanders was the solitary scorer in Group D in 2018.
- This was just Nigeria’s third loss in their past 24 group matches at the tournament.
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