Former Super Eagles goalkeeper, Dosu Joseph believes the Super Falcons will qualify from their group despite losing their opening match against South Africa
Recall that Nigeria lost 2-1 to Bayana Bayana on Monday in Rabat.
However, in a chat with Completesports.com, the Atlanta Olympic gold medalist stated that the defeat will serve as a wake up call for the team ahead of their next game.
“It is sad that the Super Falcons lost their opening game against South Africa in the Women’s Africa Cup of Nations.
Read Also: 2022 WAFCON: South Africa Defeat Super Falcons Again To Maintain Dominance
“However, I want to believe the defeat will serve as a wake-up call for the team knowing fully that the World Cup ticket is also at stake.
“I am very much optimistic that the Super Falcons will qualify from the group regardless because this defeat will only spur them to buckle up and face every game like a cup final.”
The Super Falcons will take on Botswana in their second Group C game on Thursday while South Africa will tackle Burundi.
It is the 3rd time Nigeria is losing to the Banyana Banyana in four matches. They lost 1-0 in November 2018 in Ghana WAFCON, lost 4-2 in Aisha Buhari Tourney in September in Lagos before today’s humiliation.
Nigeria paraded their European based stars who were all lethargic in the game as the young energetic South Africans.
Super Falcons win over the Orange nation’s was on December 1 2018 in the final of that years edition of WAFCON with the then Thomas Dennerby led ladies triumphing 4-3 on penalty after regulations ended goalless.
5 Comments
We do not need foreign coach for falcons. God of thunder will destroy every hand that wants to see Nigerians in pain watching their team going down. Amaju picnic is a wicked fellow. How can they hired a foreign coach to over see the falcon? Local coaches are there. We won virtually all the trophies with local coaches. Oh God! Help kill bad leaders of our country Nigeria. The worse ever game watched in century. This is exactly the way they are managing this great country, causing fear and agitation every. Look at the players, they have out live their prime on the game. We have enough girls around playing in different club here. God of soccer will not forgive the perpetrator of their scandalous act. Old players, to execute Nations Cup. NA WA
*Randy Should Rearrange His Players*
The defeat is not a humiliation as the article above ascribes. It is something of an embarrassment to African women’s football that only one team has dominated the landscape for as long as the Super Falcons have done.
Winning 11 trophies out of 13 is just insane. So I welcome far greater competition and I am less bothered about the Super Falcons losing games. In reality, they should ‘win some and lose some’.
2:1 loss to an emerging powerhouse in South Africa is nothing to be ashamed of. It is just like Argentina losing to Uruguay in men’s football, these things happen.
That said, the Super Falcons should really have taken something out of that match today but they were just flat.
Randy Waldrum paid the ultimate price for putting round pegs in square holes and expecting harmony. Harmony was sorely lacking in the Super Falcons’ display today.
The team had no natural fullbacks – Alozie and Plumptre aren’t fullbacks by trade which led to both of South Africa’s goals bypassing both of them before beating ultimately Oluehi .
The midfield was just empty and devoid of ideas. Nothing good could have come out of that Isreal. Chikwelu and Ayinde are clearly regressing while the exuberance of Ajibade is totally wasted in that midfield arrangement.
Then you have the terrible trio up front. Incidentally they are all fantastic strikers but their pairing and arrangement left them clutching at straws.
You had Onumanu who can never dribble herself out of a paper bag as a winger and Oshoala (who could have been better cutting in from the flanks) as the centre forward. Is it me or is Oshoala badly off pace? Then you have Payne, who admittedly is a decent winger, not always in sync with the movements of others around her.
The whole set up was a mess, like Lego assembled by a 4 year old.
As uninspiring as these players were today, all hope is still not lost. By placing players in optimum positions that will maximise their strengths, Waldrum might yet recover from this mishap.
The defence will always suffer without natural fullbacks; the midfield will forever be static with aging legs who have tired mental eyes while the attacking line up needs to be able to bark and bite. The entire team needs understanding and cohesion.
They have started slowly but they can definitely pick up the pace. The performances of players like Ajibade, Ebi, Plumptre and even Alozie (if she is slotted in sensible position) held much promise; promise of better outings to come.
Is a shame to the falcons, with all the foreign players they parade, This small south Africa girls out class them, Oshoala is a disgrace, needles playing her.Too many Old ladies in the team, they can’t run ,no ball control is a Nigeria will never put the Right peg in the right hole, because of corruption, some people believe the national cake is their heritage, That’s why we have old, old people in every ruling and authority making department in Nigeria. Look at the old coaching crews for the super falcons? Will such old men still be active enough to coach on the pitch? Weather they qualify in the group stage or not, this team is not sure, I don’t see them playing the likes of Cameron and Zambia. Even in qualifiers they struggle to qualify. So simple this time Super falcons will not make it.
Yes, we should not be winning all the time, we win some and lose some but not always falling to South Africa back to back and only grinding wins via penalty shoot outs. Truth be told, South Africa has dethroned Nigeria in senior women’s soccer!
Replacement of aging players always be the problem of Africa team. Falcons need young players and play a lot of friendly match. I believe in those who play in Nigeria league as well. We rely on big names like osoola and co.