Paris FC goalkeeper, Chiamaka Nnadozie has expressed gladness after the Super Falcons defeated New Zealand in an international friendly match on Tuesday, April 11 at the Mardan Sports Complex.
Falcons’ skipper Onome Ebi headed in the first goal for the team in the 34th minute, Onyinye Echegini doubled the lead in the 49th minute and Desire Oparanozie made it 3-0 in the 94th minute.
This is the Falcons’ third win in a row after defeating Costa Rica and Haiti previously.
The Super Falcons will be at the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup set to take place Australia and New Zealand between July 20 and August 20.
Recall that the team is pitted in Group B alongside Canada, Australia and Republic of Ireland.
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Has Randy Waldrum Won Over Skeptics?
Like a dog with two tails, Super Falcons fans have been lavishing the team with much praise and encomiums on social media following their 3:0 five star performance against world cup bound New Zealand in this week’s friendly in Turkey.
After churning out seven heartbreaking losses in a row, Waldrum’s Falcons now made it three wins out of their last three games – a telling affirmation of the massive turnaround the team is now experiencing ahead of the world cup in July.
Despite a nervy start, evergreen Ebi rose highest to rifle her header into the net for the opening goal in 34 minutes. It got better in 49 minutes after eloquent Echegini attacked Alozie’s cross to smash home her volley. Returnee center forward Oparanozie then added spice to the jollof rice with an emphatic hold up play before turning 360 to lash home Nigeria’s 3rd and final goal as the game approached its denouement in 94 minutes.
Coach Randy Waldrum has come under massive pillory recently from the likes of myself and other fans but today he deserves plaudits. His team selection and tactical approach were top notch and the results he orchestrated in the last three games are definitely praise worthy.
Back to today’s game, I turn my attention to salient observations I made in the course of the match.
1) Predictability: Yes the Super Falcons obliterated New Zealand but they were way too predictable particularly in the first half. It was clear that – like all Nigeria national teams across age and gender – the Super Falcons would rely on crosses to try to unlock New Zealand’s defence. There is nothing wrong with this but if they over-rely on this approach at the World Cup, opponents will find it easy to neutralise them.
2) Set Piece Prowess: Yes the team scored two goals from set pieces in their last two games (one from a corner kick today and the other from a freekick against Haiti). But they can do better. With a bit more composure, Esther Okoronkwo could have made New Zealand suffer for their foul on Oshoala close to their 18 yard box in the first half.
3) Game-play Composure: The Super Falcons seemed to be in haste to release the ball particularly in the first half. This led to many of their attacking ventures to break down prematurely. With a bit more composure on the ball, the Super Falcons will be able to dictate play with authority and finesse in future games.
4) Take-on Indulgence: Sometimes, Super Falcons players appear to give themselves too much to do by over indulging in dribbles and take-ons. It led to them being needlessly dispossessed at times with other players in promising positions.
5) Delivery From the Wings: Michelle Alozie was simply fabulous today with her pull outs. This led to a goal and created problems for New Zealand all afternoon. The beauty about her crosses is the variety she employs. She went for traditional crosses and also inswingers which made her approach less predictable.
6) Heavy Touches: In the first half, the Super Falcons overcooked some passes with some of their first touches falling short of requisite quality. This limited their goal threats. Things improved drastically and encouragingly in the second half as Nigeria seized the initiative.
7) Concentration Levels: The team showed a high level of coordination and concentration which brought them the reward of a clean sheet. The defence kept things tight and compact with the whole team moving with a lot of discipline that helped them maintain their shape and stay the course.
If they maintain this level of concentration and improve with each passing game, then – like Ashleigh Plumptre stated in a recent interview – the team will be more than capable of causing the odd upset or two come the World Cup in the summer.
A switch from the 4-2-3-1 to 4-1-4-1 also helped in the way the team approach games recently,the latter formation has released the likes of Ajibade and Payne for those straight-line surging runs out wide and Echegini’s clever rotations with Okoronkwo in midfield and also a 3 woman midfield is what the SF needs to compete at the WWC.
With this performance, I would like to see the super falcons play any top 10 ranked team and let’s see how much confidence they can bring to get a result. well done girls. see you at the quarter finals at the world cup
Una don begin the hype again abi? Remember this is just a friendly, and New Zealand might not being parading their full squad or might be they are experimenting different approach. Whichever way, we won but please let’s not start unnecessary hyping, let’s see what they can do at the world cup proper. May God protect us all till then and beyond.
No one is hyping anything we’re just outlining the improvement of the SFs results that’s all besides we’re still hoping for an improvement in certain areas of our play and also New Zealand started with their strongest eleven so our victory is praise worthy.
Oparanozie reminded us of what we’ve been missing in her absence. She really spiced up the jollof rice with that well taken strike.
The jury is still out on Waldrum, but he has not done himself any harm with these wins.
Echegini has been a key addition to the team. What a player. Energetic midfield enforcer with an attacking mentality. The US will be kicking themselves with regret over losing her to Nigeria.
The team was ok as a whole. The usual individual talents shone brightly, but the team also functioned better as a unit. Much more than we’ve seen in the recent past.
The area the team needs to work on is finishing. The chances are created, but the finishing touch has not been there. With better finishing, we should have seen a lot more goals from the 3 matches played so far.
_ Can Waldrum Now Deliver The Goods? _
The much criticized coach of the Super Falcons of Nigeria Randy Waldrum stated three key areas of the team’s approach he intends to sharpen ahead of the eagerly anticipated Women’s World Cup in the summer.
“[After this successful Turkey tour] what’s next for the Super Falcons is to go to the training camp for a few weeks prior to commencement of the world cup. This period will help us to work on (1) our shape, (2) passing quality and (3) movement.” Said Randy Waldrum after the 3:0 thumping of New Zealand on Tuesday.
“But we are getting there,” he added. ” We already saw marked improvements in these areas in our recent games.”
Love him or loathe him, one cannot discount what Waldrum said about improvements in his team’s recent performance, which is undeniable.
Before their first win (in seven games) against Costa Rica in February, the Super Falcons failed to score a single goal in their last 3 games prior. But now, they found the back of the net 6 times in their most recent 3 games giving a ratio of 2 goals per 1 game.
In that time, the also kept clean sheets against Costa Rica and New Zealand. You have go all the way back to July last year against Cameroon at the Wafcon for when they last managed to keep a clean sheet.
Also, for a team that seldom defeats oppositions ranked higher than them in the Fifa rankings, the Super Falcons made it 2 wins out of 2 against Costa Rica and New Zealand – both placed above Nigeria in the Fifa rankings.
Behind these heartwarming statistics are the technical injection and tactical tweaking infused into the team’s play by Waldrum which yielded much fruit.
The proof, as they say, is in the puff puff.
But they can’t rest on their laurels.
The team’s game is still rough around the edges in certain areas. Their passes can be erratic at times ; communication seems to break down on occasions; they manage to create scoring opportunities which they they then fail to finish off; and they aren’t always as imaginative, neat, fluid, flamboyant and forceful as one would expect of a Super Falcons outfit.
There is still much to do to mould them into a well oiled, well drilled machine, something the American gaffer himself alluded to.
But, the building blocks are there and the team is definitely moving in the right direction with the recent hattrick of victories.
There is now renewed hope and optimism that perhaps this team will be capable of pulling a rabbit out of their hat come the World Cup in the summer.
We wait and see.
Personally I see this team improving on a game by game basis at WC but will get to the desired levels post WC that’s if:
1. The NFF don’t screw things up.
2. The outcome of the world cup results and performance wise are positive.
If the above 2 happens POSITIVELY then the confidence and further improvements will propel the team to greater heights.
Nigerians can get carried away fast…..This NZ team has been chopping 5-0 left and right before they finally played 1-1 with Iceland like a week ago….Australia has been beating the top teams in Europe in their last 3 friendlies, USA had a torrid time beating Ireland in the 2 friendlies they played in the last week …Canada is Canada….I don’t see us making it out of the group and that is my opinion….Don’t attack me lol.
FyI Australia beat England 2-0 yesterday and in February they beat Spain 3-2…The falcons will have their hands full in that group. Lol
If they get beat by every team in their group so be it.
At least we want to see a Süper falcon that will compete,we want to see an improvement something to make us proud and give us hope for the future.
Hey this is a tournament football friendly performances may not count,we have seen that happen many times,it could be super falcons year to sell its brand to the world you never know.
I cannot write our girls off,at least not now they’re giving us reasons to be hopeful.They’re improving game by game they’re winning matches so let us be optimistic and hope for a great tournament it’s nothing impossible to happen.
I think we can go toe to toe with Australia and Canada and beat Republic of Ireland. Anything can happen in football and I’m not writing the SF off. If they don’t make it out of the group at least they will not go down like chumps.
Echegini and Okoronkwo with Alozie are some real upgrades in the team. Demehin and Imuran looks a part of a great future to come. And not forgetting we have a great goalkeeper in Chiamaka.
Over the last 3 friendlies I don’t think the SuperFalcons will go down easily against any team in that group. I think we should just let the coach do his job until after the WorldCup. Whatever happens so be it.
The players need to be motivated. Pay all their outstanding bonuses and the coaches salaries and they must fly first class to Australia and New Zealand. If the NFF can meet these requirements expect our girls to come out flying.
This is where it gets sticky. I think we need to be careful how we compare our team with other more technical teans with the belief we can match them toe to toe. In as much as the win seems to be enticing and elating, i think the team needs to keep their head down to consolidate on this milestone. They need to work extra hard to make sure that this performance stays with them. They need not allowed the win get into their heads to avoid disaster. For now, let’s just say they aren’t there yet, there is still a lot of work to be done by the coach and players. Congratulations to them , i look forward to such positive results at the world cup.
*allow
That’s exactly why I said this team will be near the levels expected of them after the world cup cos I don’t see them pulling trees and moving mountains in the world cup but after it only if the Nff stop meddling in the coach’s business and if performances are very good.the confidence and feel good factor will give the team the push they need to become the SF we know. It’s the bigger picture for me cos I’m looking past the WC and I have realistic expectations for the team.