By Harry Awurumibe, Editor, Abuja Bureau
Nigeria’s Super Falcons are 90 minutes away from picking the ticket for the 2024 Women’s African Cup of Nations (WAFCON) billed for Morocco as the team tackles Cape Verdean senior women’s football side at Estádio Nacional de Cabo Verde in Praia by 4pm local time (Nigeria 2pm) on Tuesday, December 5, 2023.
The 11-time African champions are going into the match full of confidence to seal 2024 WAFCON ticket without much sweat after thrashing their Cape Verdean opponents 5-0 in the first leg of the final round of the qualifiers double-header played at Moshood Abiola National Stadium, Abuja last Thursday, November 30, 2023.
A brace each by attackers Uchenna Kanu in the first half and substitute Esther Ijeoma Okoronkwo in the second half and one goal scored by Gift Monday ensured Super Falcons won the first leg 5-0 and now hold the bragging right to lay claim to the ticket for the biennial African women’s football fiesta in Morocco next year at the end of Tuesday’s return leg tie.
Barring any unforseen circumstances of illness like stomach upset or food poisoning which will present Nigeria to field 11 players on Tuesday, Super Falcons are as good as winning the contest because it will be easier for a camel to pass through the eye of the niddle than Cape Verde to overturn the 0-5 deficit by
beating Nigeria by 6-0 on the day.
The battle-tested Super Falcons are not known to have squandered a big lead since the team was formed in June 1991 even as the Cape Verdean senior women’s football team does not look like a side that could pose any problem to Super Falcons.
The coach Justin Madugu tutored side do not have to do much to carry the day and if they fail to score any goal but avoid conceeding six goals then they are home and dry.
But Madugu have been bullish as he told anyone who cares to listen that he is not satisfied with the result of first leg tie, promising that his team will fight like wounded lionesses to complete the job that they started in Abuja.
“We have to show respect to our opponents by putting the result of the first leg match in Nigeria behind us. We don’t want to be embarrassed so we have to fight for every ball on the pitch because football is full of unpredictability and we will not joke with the match. You see, if you kill a snake without cutting off the head it is still very dangerous”, the coach argued.
The coach who has won two matches on the bounce with wide margins and drawn one in his first three matches in charge in the absence of American-born former Super Falcons head coach Randy Waldrum, has assured Nigerians that the team will win its third match under his watch.
“I want to assure our nation that we shall not rest on our oars as we travel to Cape Verde. I have told the players that our job is not done yet. We have only won the first leg but we have another 90 minutes to play in the return leg in our opponents home turf. We have to approach the match like we did not win the first leg”.
The winner of the double-header will qualify for WAFCON final slated for Morocco next year. Nigeria has never missed the biennial African women’s football fiesta since it was first played in Nigeria in 1998.
Nigeria delegation comprising 20 players, coaching crew, backroom staff and Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) technical and administrative officials who departed the country on Saturday for Cape Verde arrived Praia in the evening and settled at Happy Day Hotel in the city.
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The return leg encounter will be officiated by Liberian official Sylvina Welma Garnett as referee. CAF has also appointed Hannah Moses (Liberian) as assistant referee 1, while Sierra Leoneans Precious Amara and Humu Marah will serve as assistant referee 2 and fourth official respectively.
Oumou Souleymane Kane from Mauritania will serve as commissioner while Fadouma Dia from Senegal will be the referee assessor.
Morocco 2024 Final Round, Second Leg Fixtures:
*Cape Verde vs Nigeria (0-5)
*Egypt vs Senegal (0-4)
*Guinea vs Mali (2-7)
*Burundi vs Algeria (1-5)
*Togo vs Tanzania (0-3)
*Botswana vs Kenya (1-1)
*Congo vs Tunisia (2-5)
*Zambia vs Angola (6-0)
*South Africa vs Burkina Faso (1-1)
*DR Congo vs Equatorial *Guinea (1-1)
*Namibia vs Ghana (1-3).
