Oshoala Among Early Birds
Experienced striker Asisat Oshoala is among the early arrivals at the Super Falcons’ camp in Ikenne as preparations begin for the upcoming international friendlies against Senegal.
Defender Shukurat Oladipo and midfielder Kafayat Shittu have also reported to camp.
Head coach Justine Madugu is expecting all 23 invited players to be in camp by Tuesday.
The nine-time African champions will hold their first official training session on Tuesday evening.
The Super Falcons will take on Senegal in the first friendly at the Remo Stars Stadium, Ikenne, on Friday, with the second encounter scheduled for the same venue next Monday.
WAFCON Preparations In Top Gear
The Super Falcons, and Senegal will use the friendlies as part of their preparations for the 2026 Women’s Africa Cup of Nations.
Nigeria will take on Egypt, Zambia and debutants Malawi in Group C, while Senegal are in Group A with hosts Morocco, Algeria and Kenya.
This year’s tournament will also serve as the qualifying competition for next year’s FIFA Women’s World Cup finals, with the best four teams qualifying directly to Brazil.
Super Falcons Full Squad
Goalkeepers: Chiamaka Nnadozie (Brighton Hove & Albion, England); Comfort Erhabor (Portsmouth Ladies, England); Anderline Mgbechi (Rivers Angels)
Defenders: Shukurat Oladipo (AS Roma, Italy); Rofiat Imuran (London City Lionesses, England); Glory Ogbonna (FC Kiryat Gat, Israel); Oluwatosin Demehin (Galatasaray Sportive, Turkey); Sikiratu Isah (Bnot Netanya, Israel); Blessing Ilivieda (Bayelsa Queens); Christy Ucheibe (SL Benfica, Portugal);
Midfielders: Rasheedat Ajibade (Paris Saint Germain, France); Halimatu Ayinde (BK Hacken, Sweden); Ngozi Okobi-Okeoghene (Ottawa Rapids, Canada); Toni Payne (Everton Ladies, England); Jennifer Echegini (Paris Saint Germain, France); Kafayat Shittu (Giressunsanayispor, Turkey)
Forwards: Asisat Oshoala (Al Hilal, Saudi Arabia); Gift Monday (Washington Spirit, USA); Joy Omewa (Nottingham Forest, England); Francisca Ordega (Ittihad Ladies, Saudi Arabia); Folashade Ijamilusi (Liaoning Shenyang Shenbei Hefeng, China); Omorinsola Babajide (AS Roma, Italy); Blessing Nkor (Dynamo Brest, Belarus)
By Adeboye Amosu
1 Comment
CS, correct this oh
“This year’s tournament will also serve as the qualifying competition for next year’s FIFA Women’s World Cup finals, with the best four teams qualifying directly to Brazil, while the fifth-placed team will be involved in an intercontinental playoff tournament for an opportunity to qualify for the finals.”
CAF will bring 2 teams and not only the “fifth placed team” for the playoffs in November.
That means the best ranked 2 losing quarterfinalists will do the playoffs that ARE IN 2 PHASES. Long route to follow, in my opinion.
With the WAFCON groups:
Group A: Morocco, Algeria, Senegal, Kenya
Group B: South Africa, Ivory Coast, Burkina Faso, Tanzania
Group C: Nigeria, Zambia, Egypt, Malawi
Group D: Ghana, Cameroon, Mali, Cape Verde
And hoping Nigeria tops their group, the quarter finals opponents (which most likely will come from group D since CAF hasn’t completed the schedule) will not be a given for the falcons anyway with their deliberate sabotage of call-ups and preparations.
Let us sha qualify for quarters first (imagine I’m frightened for the team because of everything in a world cup qualifiers tournament).
#GusauOut by September.