Women’s World Cup 2023: Nigeria in-depth team guide and prediction
All the information you need on Nigeria’s team for the tournament in Australia and New Zealand: the coach, star player, rising star...
We take a look at the Super Falcons, Nigeria in the latest team guide for the Women’s World Cup 2023. This article is part of a collaboration with The Guardian along with leading newspapers from each of the participating countries at the tournament.
This guide was written by Solace Chukwu for Pulse Sports.
Overview
This tournament finds the Nigeria team in an unusually vulnerable state. Having lost the Women’s Africa Cup of Nations, a title they had previously monopolised for decades, the Super Falcons will arrive in Australia without their trademark aura.
Of course, 2022 was not the first time Nigeria have failed to win the WAFCON. Twice they had been usurped by Equatorial Guinea but on both those occasions it felt as if it was partly down to their own complacency. This time there is a real sense that the rest of Africa is catching up.
The Super Falcons lost to both South Africa and hosts Morocco, the two teams contesting the final with the latter winning it. They then lost to Zambia in the third-place play-off. Considering that backdrop, it seems entirely possible that the nine-time African champions will not be able to equal their achievement from the last World Cup, in 2019, when they reached the last 16. Their best ever performance at the tournament was back in 1999, when they got to the quarter-finals.
In addition, the perennial cloud of owed bonuses and administrative interference hang over the Super Falcons once again. In a recent interview on the ‘Sounding off on Soccer’ podcast, the coach Randy Waldrum lifted the lid on the pressure he has had to face over his final squad list and criticised the lack of preparation ahead 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 said. He also revealed that the team shunned training ahead of their WAFCON defeat to Zambia on account of unpaid bonuses.
In response, the NFF described his outburst as an “afterthought” and directly criticised the inclusion of goalkeeper Yewande Balogun.
There is, however, some solace to be found in the fact that Waldrum has a squad brimming with talent, especially in the attacking areas. Barcelona’s Asisat Oshoala is at the peak of her powers and has just won the Champions League and she has a great support cast, including Atlético Madrid’s Rasheedat Ajibade and Saint-Étienne’s Esther Okoronkwo.
There is also more depth in midfield, an area where Nigeria has struggled for options in the past. “I think the current Super Falcons’ squad is loaded with many talented players,” Waldrum said. “There are a lot of players who have much to offer in the team and I am reasonably excited and hopeful.”
The coach
Randy Waldrum is a coach who splits opinion. Apart from the fact that his CV seemed rather weak when he was appointed, and the fact that he essentially works part-time, he also failed to win the Women’s Africa Cup of Nations last year - a requirement that has been taken for granted in the past. To make matters worse, he managed to antagonise the Nigerian media by limiting access to the players during the tournament.
In defence of the 66-year-old, he is facing unprecedented challenges from the other African teams as women’s football on the continent is growing at a rapid pace and his job has not been made easier by the Nigeria Football Federation still owing some players their salaries. So the jury is still out on the former Trinidad and Tobago coach. Performances have slowly begun to improve but a poor showing at the World Cup will leave Waldrum with no place to hide.
Star player
Asisat Oshoala. Playing for a club of Barcelona’s stature, scoring as many goals as she does, being nominated for the Ballon d’Or and winning the African Women’s Player of the Year award four times is a strong case to be the star player of any team. Oshoala’s speed, agility and eye for the spectacular means the Super Falcons often look to her for inspiration. That is not always a positive for the team as a whole but it does challenge the rest of the team to raise their level. A role model off the pitch too, she has a foundation and academy for girls, looking to create the sort of opportunities she was denied when growing up.
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 onto the pitch in Australia or New Zealand, she will play at her sixth World Cup, taking her past Japanese legend Homare Sawa and keeping 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, currently already has the African record.
Standing of women’s football in Nigeria
Despite bringing tremendous success to Nigeria, women’s football very much 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 stigmas and poor administration/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 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 co-host Australia and 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.