By this latest defeat, Nigeria’s dominance of South Africa is over ad Banyana Banyana with three recent defeats of Nigeria a red flag on what to lays ahead in the competition and in the years ahead.
The results of 2018, 2012 and 2022 matches between Nigeria and South Africa under Desiree Ellis are clear manifestation of the present state of status of both teams in Africa at the moment.
It is therefore not a big surprise that South Africa has been dominating Nigeria for four years and counting under Ellis regime.
Her rise to becoming one of the respected women football coaches in Africa has been rapid as her exploits has marked her out as a football tactician of high repute even as she won the Best African Women Coach in 2018.
Coming to Morocco, Coach Ellis whom the bulk of the 26 players in her roaster play club football in South Africa made it a duty to monitor and select the best players in every department of the game. It was not difficult for her to blend them with a sprinkle of foreign-based players for WAFCON in Morocco.
She selected the players based on current form but most importantly she opted for youthfulness, experience and adaptability.
Ellis was full of praise for the South African Women’s Premier League coaches for the work they have done in keeping the players fit.
She further praised the players for the effort they displayed during the local preparation/selection camp just as she confessed that selecting the final squad for the tournament in Morocco was a difficult task for the technical team.
“We had a good week and a half and with many of the overseas based players joining us, many have stepped up. We had a good mix of youth and experience for the past week and half”, Ellis said before the team left home.
A closer look at the South Africa team list showed that only two players none playing captain Janine Van Wyk and fellow defender
Lebohang Ramalepe were born in late 1980s, others were born in 1990s and 2000.
This is a sharp contrast with Nigeria team whose regular players were born in the early 1980s like captain Onome Ebi who is few months away from clocking 40 years and goalkeepers Yewande Balogun 38 and Toochukwu Oluehi 35 years old.
Other players who have crossed 30 or approaching 30 years are midfielder Rita Chikwelu (34); defender Osinachi Ohale (30); Francisca Ordega (28); Ngozi Okobi-Okoghene (28) and Halimat Ayinde (27).
Again, 97 per cent of Super Falcons players registered by Coach Waldrum for the Morocco trip are based abroad with the chunk living in Europe while few like goalkeeper Balogun, defender Michelle Alozie and forward Ifeoma Onumonu are plying their trade in United States of America (USA).
Only one player and the highest goalscorer in Nigeria’s domestic women’s league is included in the roaster and she did not get a look in by the coach in the 2-1 loss to South Africa.
Add to these, Coach Waldrum who is the substantive Head Coach of University of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA, has not handled an African football team men or women in a competition of this magnitude hence the Super Falcons lost their first match to South Africa on Monday, July 4 in Rabat.
The above sums up the difference between South Africa’s Banyana Banyana and Super Falcons of Nigeria of the 2022 Class as the coach and his players will have to improve in their remaining games or kiss the competition goodbye.
concluded.
