This article is part of the Guardian’s Women’s World Cup 2023 Experts’ Network, a cooperation between a number of the finest media organisations from the 32 international locations who certified. theguardian.com is operating previews from two international locations every day within the run-up to the match which kicks off on 20 July.
Overview
This match finds the Nigeria team in an unusually susceptible state. Having misplaced the Women’s Africa Cup of Nations, a title that they had beforehand monopolised for many years, the Super Falcons will arrive in Australia with out their trademark aura.
Of course, 2022 was not the primary time Nigeria have did not win Wafcon. Twice that they had been usurped by Equatorial Guinea however on each events it felt as if it was partly right down to their very own complacency. This time there’s a actual sense that the remainder of Africa is catching up.
The Super Falcons misplaced to each South Africa and Morocco, the 2 groups who went on to contest a last during which the latter triumphed. They then misplaced to Zambia within the third-place playoff. Considering that backdrop, it appears totally doable that the nine-time African champions will be unable to equal their achievement from the final World Cup, in 2019, after they reached the final 16. Their finest ever efficiency on the match was again in 1999, after they bought to the quarter-finals.
In addition, the perennial cloud of owed bonuses and administrative interference hangs over the Super Falcons as soon as once more. In a latest interview on the Sounding off on Soccer podcast, Randy Waldrum, the pinnacle coach, lifted the lid on the strain he has confronted over his last squad record and criticised the shortage of preparation forward of the World Cup.
“They wanted me to pick a goalkeeper from Nigeria for the World Cup that I have never seen, who has never been in one of our camps,” he mentioned. He additionally revealed that the team shunned coaching forward of their Wafcon defeat to Zambia on account of unpaid bonuses. In response, the Nigeria Football Federation described his outburst as an “afterthought” and immediately criticised the inclusion of the keeper Yewande Balogun.
There is, nonetheless, some solace to be present in the truth that Waldrum has a squad brimming with expertise, particularly within the attacking areas. Barcelona’s Asisat Oshoala is on the peak of her powers and has simply gained the Champions League. She has an amazing help forged, together with Atlético Madrid’s Rasheedat Ajibade and Saint-Étienne’s Esther Okoronkwo. There can also be extra depth in midfield, an space the place Nigeria have struggled for choices previously. “I think the current Super Falcons squad is loaded with many talented players,” Waldrum mentioned. “There are a lot of players who have much to offer in the team and I am reasonably excited and hopeful.”
The coach
Waldrum is a coach who splits opinion. Apart from the very fact his CV appeared reasonably weak when he was appointed and he basically works part-time, he additionally did not win Wafcon final 12 months, one thing that has been taken without any consideration previously. To make issues worse, he managed to antagonise the Nigerian media by limiting entry to the gamers through the match. In his defence, he’s dealing with unprecedented challenges from the opposite African groups as girls’s soccer on the continent is rising at a fast tempo and his job has not been made simpler by the NFF nonetheless owing some salaries. So the jury is out on the previous Trinidad and Tobago coach. Performances have slowly begun to enhance however a poor exhibiting on the World Cup will depart him with no place to cover.
Star participant
Asisat Oshoala. Playing for a membership of Barcelona’s stature, scoring as many targets as she does, being nominated for the Ballon d’Or and profitable the African girls’s participant of the 12 months award 4 instances is a robust case to be the star participant of any team. Oshoala’s velocity, agility and eye for the spectacular means the Super Falcons usually look to her for inspiration. That just isn’t all the time a optimistic for the team as a complete, nevertheless it does problem the opposite gamers to lift their stage. A task mannequin off the pitch, she has a basis and academy for ladies which goals to offer the kind of alternatives she was denied when rising up.
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Rising star
If there is one thing that Nigeria have lacked in recent times, it is a reliable, mobile link between midfield and attack. Ngozi Okobi has fulfilled the role in previous years but now Deborah Abiodun has the potential to carry the team’s creative burden for many years to come. A part of the squad for the 2022 Under-20 World Cup, Abiodun interprets the role with a unique flair, drifting into pockets of space in the channels to combine with teammates and take the ball into the final third. If trusted, the 19-year-old could prove a real revelation.
Did you know?
If Onome Ebi steps on to the pitch in Australia or New Zealand, she will play at her sixth World Cup, taking her past the Japan legend Homare Sawa and keeping her level with Marta, who is also expected to play at this tournament. That would leave only the Brazilian Formiga ahead of them. Ebi, now 40, already has the African record.
Despite bringing tremendous success to Nigeria, women’s football gets the short end of the stick from a financial perspective. It is very well followed, especially during major international tournaments, but its growth remains hindered by a number of factors with societal stigma and poor administration and organisation most prominent among them. The domestic league often fails to kick off on schedule, clubs are inadequately funded and there is a lack of infrastructure and general expertise.
Realistic aim at the World Cup?
Four matches is the most Nigeria have played at a World Cup and they are faced with a difficult group featuring the co-hosts, Australia, and the reigning Olympic champions, Canada. If they are to progress, they will need to go into their final group match against Ireland with something already on the board. Prediction: group-stage exit.
Written by Solace Chukwu for Pulse Sports.
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