The Super Falcons, Nigeria’s women’s national soccer team, are preparing to take on the world at the upcoming FIFA Women’s World Cup co-hosted by Australia and New Zealand. Despite a disappointing fourth-place finish at the 12th Women Africa Cup of Nations in Morocco last year, the team’s head coach, Randy Waldrum, is optimistic that they will make a strong showing at the global tournament.
Waldrum emphasized that the team’s first goal is to advance out of the group stage. He said, “Everyone wants to get to the knockout stage, but obviously in order to achieve that, you have to advance out of the group. And now, our focus is principally on doing that.”
The Super Falcons’ recent performance at the Africa Cup of Nations, where they lost three out of six matches, was seen as a disappointment by many fans and experts. The team had previously won nine of the last 11 editions of the competition. Despite losing to eventual champions South Africa in the opening match, and then losing to host nation Morocco via penalty shootout in the semi-finals with two key players receiving red cards.
The team will face off against Olympic champions Canada, co-hosts Australia, and Republic of Ireland in the group stage of the tournament, which begins on July 20th. The Falcons will be based in Brisbane, where they will play two of their three group stage matches, with the other game taking place in Melbourne.
Nigeria is one of only seven countries that have never failed to qualify for the FIFA Women’s World Cup since the competition began 32 years ago in China. This year, the tournament will feature 32 teams, the same number as the men’s tournament. The Super Falcons will be looking to improve their performance from the last Africa Cup of Nations and make their country proud with a strong showing at the World Cup.
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Joseph Omoniyi
- Tags: FIFA, Nigeria, Super Falcons, Women world cup
