Super Falcons head coach, Randy Waldrum heaped plaudits on his side after they earned a place in the Round of 16 at the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup following a 0-0 draw against Republic of Ireland.
Waldrum’s side finished second in Group B behind co-hosts Australia who thrashed Canada 4-0.
The Super Falcons remain unbeaten in the competition with one win and two draws from three games.
The American was proud of the performance of his team so far in the competition.
“Two years ago when we started, there were so many things that did not go well,” Waldrum said after the game.
Read Also:Super Falcons Qualify For Round Of 16 After Draw Vs Ireland
” So I told them (Super Falcons players) to keep working and so I am proud of the performances and believe to qualify from this group.
” So many people did not give the Super Falcons a chance of going through from the group without losing a match, I’m so proud of them, ” he said.
The 66-year-old also reflected on the encounter against Ireland.
” I was disappointed because I thought we could win the match, but the fact that we got the objective of qualifying for the knockout stage is enough,” the American born handler remarked.
The Super Falcons will face either European Champions England or Denmark in the Round of 16.
By Adeboye Amosu
12 Comments
Waldrum is a proper tactician, take it or leave it. This team’s solidity is down to the tactics employed by the gaffer. The speed with which the team resets into impenetrable shape has to be a case study for OUR BABA EAGLES handlers. And if those okpodu Eagles can bring this method of play to combine with the very talented bunch of players available, then we can go to bed with some assurance, that we will not only win AFCON but also qualify for the world and most likely go really far.
You spoilt this beautiful comment by introducing the Eagles to it. Which midfielder do we have to transition the team from defense to attack? Let’s focus on our girls I beg. Eagles na sore memory.
You want the SE to revert to defensive pattern of play too…LMAOoo??
Nigerians are some really unsatiable people, I hope you know that….LMAOoo
It was them who complained Rohr was too defensive back then, when the man shaped the SE into the most dangerous counter-attacking outfit in the world.
With a SE that was so hard to crack that teams literally shed tears whenever then manage to win the SE, we churned out win after win after win, and then some people started thinking we have the best players in Africa and could win the AFCON in 2 weeks with just any coach……LMAOoo.
The came the man who allowed the players to “express themselves” and the rest they say is history…..LMAooo
Wait till the oversabi 94 squad and company start lambasting anybody that coaches the SE without implementing the sacred “wing play”….LMAOoo.
I agree with you though that Waldrum got is right going into this world cup. We as africans should be humble enough to acknowledge that we cant go far matching the rest of the world attack for attack without being the first to blink.
Defensive organization and incisive counter attacks seem to be our go to style and it seems to be taking us far…..check out Cameroon’s 1990, Senegal’s 2002, Ghana’s 2010 and Morrocco’s 2022 teams. These are teams built on unpregnable defensive tightness and efficient counter attacking.
I praise Waldrum for realizing that early and preparing his team in that line.
We have survived the Olympic Champions, We have survived the hosts and favorites….I hope we will also be able to survive the European Champions when we collide with them in a week from now.
@ Dr Drey please let’s leave Rohr to focus on Benin job. I was and still is one of Roger’s fervent supporter. But in as much as I love and support him, I think he got it wrong some where along the line, when he started taking advice from very selfish, greedy, criminal minded Nigerians that were very close to him.
His continuous listening to these Satans, prevented him from seeing the need to try out many new options of players available to him even in friendly matches, whereby he kept using almost same players over and over again even when fans were expecting the team to start entering the next higher level of performance.
This is one area Waldrum has really done far better than all of our recent national team coaches; trying out many players as well as being bold to drop under performing ones or those that don’t fit in playing his brand of football. The other that come next to him surprisingly, is Ladan Bosso. I am not trying to really blame Rohr though because he may have been thinking those criminals were there to stand by him in the face of the internal political manoeuvres to get rid of him, but only just saying, that sometimes, we have to accept that Rohr himself didn’t make things easy for most fans to stand him.
He may have chosen to be very careful not to ruffle feathers under which he was taking shelter but that was where he honestly lost his mojo otherwise like you said, he was preparing a team that was always going to be very difficult to beat but shot that move in its feet by constantly using players that were no longer fit/ good enough to execute that brand of football which made really hard for fans to accept except for few of us that managed to understand the politics working against his good intentions. I don’t like pointing out players hence not gonna mention names.
I dont and never will blame Rohr for any decisions he took since after they gave him a contract design specifically to reject (according to Segun Odegbami) just to force him out, but he outsmarted them and still signed it anyways to show that it will take more than a paycut and payment in Naira (which wasnt even always paid) to stop him from reaping the rewards of his hardwork. Thereafter, all tricks of sabotage to make him and his team followed. Whenyou have been primed to fail, you dont open your doors to just anyone.
You dont start experimenting when you have the hangman’s noose around your neck. Rohr didnt needed to lose a game before hired media hoodlums like Segun Odegbami start vandalizing his efforts. The same Segun Odegbami who had opined that it would take an underserved miracle for Nigeria to qualify for the 2018 WC, b4 Rohr came and did it in style unbeaten, with pristine defensive organization and deadly counter attacking edge.
By the time these media hoodlums, their e-rats here on CSN and the long throated, jobless 1994 cult started their paid assignments, let the SE WIN Lesotho 3-0, they will say 94 set would have won such game 8-0, (as if the 94 set never struggled to win games too during their era)…..let SE WIN Liberia 2-0 they will remind us that a “homebased coach” Keshi won them 6-1 (as if Keshi too never struggled to win the likes of Malawi, Namibia and Congo Brazaville too). It took just a draw vs Cape Verde to them to find a reason to declare that his team was in decline despite once again just meeting another target set for him. This is a man the NEVER lost any qualifier away from home. Clearly, something evil usually happened behind the scenes whenever the team played at home. Only insiders would be able to tell.
At a point in time, they even accused him of using too many foreign players born players…..as if that makes them less Nigerian. When that couldnt sell, they switched too he doesnt use homebased players. Thank God they were given the team to handle, and for both the AFCON and the WCQ playoffs, they couldnt sumon up enough courage to call up the same homebased players whom they had claimed were good enough for the SE under Rohr.
So in such kinds of situations, when I am surrounded by enemies in my workplace, my friend, I am sticking 100% to my trusted generals….and Im being frank, practical and realistic with you here. Ive faced such situations many times in my career, and I’ll tell you for free, the best thing to do in such instance is to surround yourself with only those who are loyal to you.
Trust anyone anyhow and you will be a goner. If God then decides to let your enemies have their way, they will, albeit tentatively, because eventually, you will be vindicated and glorified.
Or have you forgotten some people here even suggested that the NFF should pay 1 or 2 players in the SE to sabotage him at Cameroon AFCON and ensure we never reach the semifinals….??? If ordinary fans could conceive such thoughts can you imagine what had been conceived by the wicked beasts in NFF and the sports ministry. Have you forgotten reports that Iheanacho and another player were caught smuggling women into camp and were evicted as punishment, only for Pinnick to overule the Coach’s punitive measure….?? What do you call that if not delibrate sabotage…??
I am still thanking God till today that the He allowed the devil to push his agent of destruction, Sunday Dare to sack Rohr…..there was no better way to punish Nigeria and teach us a lesson than the turn of events from when Sunday Nebuchadnezzar Dare couldnt stand Rohr not bowing down at his feet till now that the NFF cannot afford to pay any coach having lost over $20m in revenue and Nigeria being roundly disgraced at AFCON and WCQ playoffs.
Otherwise, till today, some imbeciles would still have been thinking that with the calibre of players we have, we can win AFCON under 2 weeks with any coach……LMAOOo. Or that it is better to fail with our own than to succeed with a foreigner…….LMAOooo
The simple question is….have we fared better since then….? Your answer is as good as mine…..LMAOOo. And to think we have lost a lot and now paying double his salary…..LMAOoo. Did I here you say Miracle no dey tire Jesus….? LMAOoo
Meanwhile, the 70 year old man has since gone on to take up the Benin national team Job, after earlier contacts from the duo of Ghana and Mali….but those who jobless ones who busied themselves with peanuts from NFF to criticize him then are still feeding on those peanuts and even turned themselves into political jobbers during the last presidential campaigns.
Who is having the last laugh now…???
Congratulations Waldrum! Your team has really surpassed expectations. The least FIFA rated team dumped teams including olympic champions that are two digits ahead in FIFA ranking.
Your team selections and patterns of play have worked really well against oppositions.
Gift Monday showed up in today’s match and could be play a huge role in the next stage.
From now on sitting back and watching the opponent string passes and then counter attack is not an option Super Falcons must attack This is the knockout stage.
I go disagree small. Watch highlights of Spain vs Japan again. Conservatism still has its advantages. Spain passed themselves to death but only three straight shots at goal undid Spain and they conceded three. Besides we are Africans and decisions tend to not go our way.
Sly your observation is very valid. Top notch!!!
We are playing similar to Morocco of Qatar. It is our best berth in my opinion
I wasnt impressed with the way our girls played Yesterday, it has less to do with the coaches, the girls allowed victory against autralia enters their head, firsthalf they where just dancing around like chikens chasing corn, any where belle face was the order of the day. If your opponent play better than you it a different situation, but when you chose to be inconsistent for no reason, finding it difficult to extablish your full potential always it shows lack of mental stability of a team, they cannot always be gambling with ideas when they have few chances, they must create more confident and understanding if not they will belike onetime cruisers, another time suckers. My advice for the coach is to apply conte guadiola tacktics on them, the formation is good, tactics of play is good and sub is superb, but he have to tell them exactly what and how he want them to play and move the ball, that is called coaching like you are playing playstation, players like allozie should me instructed all the time, becos she tends to unesecary prefer difficult options than simply ease the pass to a midfielder or a winger so she can run behind opponent without the ball, but as you can see she wants to carry the ball to heaven her self, ajibade must also learn to play backward and allow her midfielder or wing back to help her when needed if she keeps forcing her way when there are better options she will have to go to alter and marry moses simon, she must trust her team enough to rely on their help, they have the charakter to do the right things, but they sometimes choose to be childish and loses riddim, payne trying to shot with her wick leg in a case of 3 against 2. if we must stick to wings the wings must pull the ball in and players must be available for a header, there was a case where ajibade changes the ball towards alozie and gift, both players did 2 to bit 1 allowing alozie cross to the yard, that cross was super in two ocassion, only onumonu was in the box, meanwhile if there were trust, ajibade and payne would have quickly run to the box to pick one of those crosses, bcos ireland was tired and they had only few girls in their back, our girls availability in the box would have been a goal. Germany, usa, etc are not better than our girls, these littles carachters seperates them.
My hope is for our girls to touch the semis, i belive we can do it, we have the best midfielders in this wcup, uchebo ayinde and payne are just too good, they can kill any opponent if they know how good they are, one 1994 supereagles player said, we could have won the wcup if we knew we were better than the rest. This team is bet for last four if they know how good they are, the only wick side of this team is not having natural wing backs, every other position is absolute. We will beat england.