Midfielder Esther Onyenezide, who impressed at last year’s FIFA U20 Women’s World Cup finals in Costa Rica as Nigeria reached the quarter-finals, has been drafted to take the place of 2023 FIFA World Cup star Halimatu Ayinde in Nigeria’s squad for the 2024 Women Olympic Football Tournament fixture against Ethiopia’s senior women national team.
Ayinde will miss the game due to injury.
Similarly, the trio of Christy Ucheibe, Regina Otu and Osinachi Ohale will miss the game as a result of injury.
The delegation of home-based players and technical and backroom staff from Nigeria flew into Addis Ababa on Sunday for Wednesday’s opening leg encounter at the Abebe Bekila Stadium, and the foreign-based players have started arriving for the big match as well.
The Super Falcons will host the second leg of the second-round fixture at the MKO Abiola Stadium, Abuja on Tuesday, 31st October 2023.
The winner on aggregate will confront the winner of the fixture between Cameroon and Uganda. The Indomitable Lionesses drew a bye, while Uganda overpowered Rwanda 4-3 on aggregate.
Ethiopia’s senior girls, nicknamed Lucy, turned back the senior women national team of Chad 10-0 in the first round of the series, played in the month of July. The Ethiopians won the first lef 6-0 in Addis Ababa on 13th July, before lashing their hosts 4-0 in N’Djamena five days later.
The Confederation of African Football has appointed Lamia Atman from Algeria as referee for Wednesday’s encounter, with her compatriots Asma Feriel Ouahab, Sara Kemmad and Ghada Mehat as Assistant Referee 1, Assistant Referee 2 and Fourth official respectively.
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Angelique Tuyishime from Rwanda will serve as Referee Assessor while Tabitha Wambui Njoroge from Kenya will be in the role of Match Commissioner.
For Tuesday’s return leg in Abuja, Edoh Kindedji from Togo will be referee, with her compatriots Abra Sitsofe Agbedanou and Kossiwa Kayigan Awoutey as Assistant Referee 1 and Assistant Referee 2 respectively. Yacine Samassa from Mauritania will be in the role of Fourth official.
Daloba Oulare from Guinea will be the Referee Assessor and Christine Ziga from Ghana will serve as Match Commissioner.
SUPER FALCONS TO BATTLE ETHIOPIA:
Goalkeepers: Chiamaka Nnadozie (Paris FC); Tochukwu Oluehi (Shualat Alsharqia FC, Saudi Arabia); Monle Oyono (Bayelsa Queens).
Defenders: Comfort Folorunsho (Edo Queens); Oluwatosin Demehin (Stade de Reims, France); Michelle Alozie (Houston Dash, USA); Nicole Payne (Paris Saint Germain, France); Jumoke Alani (Edo Queens); Rofiat Imuran (Stade de Reims, France).
Midfielders: Esther Onyenezide (FC Robo Queens); Peace Efih (Sporting Club de Braga, Portugal); Rasheedat Ajibade (Atletico Madrid FC, Spain); Toni Payne (Sevilla FC, Spain).
Forwards: Omorinsola Babajide (Coasta Adeje Tenerife Egatesa, Spain); Ifeoma Onumonu (NY/NJ Gotham FC, USA); Asisat Oshoala (FC Barcelona Feminine, Spain); Uchenna Kanu (Racing Louisville, USA); Opeyemi Ajakaye (FC Robo Queens).
6 Comments
Is Wladrum still coaching this team..
Or is it Danjuma who has bungled back to back qualifications for the team that will still be drafted in for this assignment….?!
It’s a shame a whole Complete Sports has become complicit in being silent about who’s leading this team to Addis Ababa and they’re trying to be smart about it in their half reports. Nobody is asking questions.
Where’s Waldrum? I hope Gusau and Co are ready for the consequences if Danjuma is in the dugout again and bottles another Olympic football qualifier for Nigeria. Thank God they live in a Glass House. You can tell by all the names of the invites and replacements. It’s suspicious and very doubtful Waldrum would make such calls.
NFF is obviously well aware Nigerians want Waldrum and are too ashamed and afraid to sack him, hence all these hanky panky games and half reports they send to CSN and beg them to ‘smartly’ skip and be silent on the coach part. Danjuma is clearly U20 team level and should stay there.
Our team is now light and vulnerable.I was expecting a like for like replacement in the case of Halimatu Ayinde who was a so good at the world cup especially at breaking up opposition attacks,and keeping hold of possesion from her defensive midfield role.I was highly impressed by Halimatu’s performance.The absence of Ucheibe as well has weakened our central midfield.Why was Abiodun not invited or Ngozi Okobi?Onyenezide is an attacking midfielder by trade,the roster above does not list a defensive midfielder at least not one i know of.
Our defence also looks vulnerable with Ohale not present i was expecting Ebi or Plumptre to be drafted.Apparently,we’re going to Addis Ababa with only one recognised central defender in inexperienced Demehin.
A depleted side travelling for a difficult away game with no training session bad planning.
You are spot on bro, in the absence of Ohale and Ebi, inform Ashleigh Plumptre or Glory Ogbonna would have been drafted, I am so scared of this game, there are so many inexperienced youngsters here, Alani, Demehin, Imuran, onyenezide all from the falconets of just 1 year ago might just be starting for us in a crucial Olympic qualifiers against a tricky opponent like Ethiopia.
You could tell the list was made by the nff.Waldrum wouldn’t make a dreadful blunder of a roster.We have failed to qualify for the Olympics a number of times consecutively because we take qualifications for granted.
I won’t be surprised we fail to qualify again this time.
CSN reports absence of players but never investigates why. Appears Nigeria treats the Ethiopran encounter with levity. Pride goes before a fall.