July 23, (THEWILL) – The participation of Nigeria’s Super Falcons in what was thought to be a chase for their 10th continental Africa Women’s Cup of Nations title ended with one of their most disappointing tournaments in history in their third-place lone goal loss to Zambia on Friday night.
Even if it was an own-goal in the 28th minute, the Super Falcons created some opportunities for themselves before and after but, in the absence of traditional finishers like the injured Asisat Oshoala and suspended Rasheedat Ajibade, those chances were wasted. In the end, the Falcons will return to Abuja as the fourth best team, a far cry from pre-tournament expectations.
Much of the blame will fall on the coach as questionable selections and an inability to change the tempo of the team’s performances were lacking. It was as though lessons learnt from the Super Falcons’ participation in competitions in Nigeria (the Aisha Buhari Invitational) and doubleheader friendlies against the USA and Canada were not sufficiently implemented for results.
Therefore, for the first time since 2012, the Falcons finished fourth after consistently taking home the trophy place or being among the top three teams in the competition. It is true that the gap between the Nigerian squad and the others have decreased yet, the team did not play to the best of its potentials and unless there is a vast improvement in every aspect, even more embarrassment will follow at the World Cup.
While the Super Falcons had problems with the government over unpaid bonuses two days ago, that is in no way an excuse, and praise must be reserved for the Zambian team, who played well against South Africa in the semi-finals before losing 1-0 on a controversial penalty kick that cost them the chance to advance to the final.
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
