The Super Falcons of Nigeria, are fully settled in Spain ahead of their preparatory games against Icelandic first division club, UMF Selfoss and Canada in Spain reports Completesports.com.
The nine-time African champions will take on UMF Selfoss on Thursday, 4th April, before battling with the Canadians on Monday, four days later.
Both games will be played in the city of Murcia.
Thomas Dennerby‘s side having played six friendlies – two at the China Tournament in Meizhou in January and four matches at the Cyprus Women’s Cup will also take part in the eight-nation WAFU B Women’s Tournament in Abidjan, Cote d’Ivoire in May.
The eight-nation WAFU B Women’s Tournament will hold from the 8th of May to the 18th with hosts Cote d’Ivoire, Ghana, Mali, Senegal, Togo, Burkina Faso and Niger Republic taking part.
The draw ceremony for the WAFU B Tournament has been scheduled for Tuesday, 16th April.
After the WAFU Cup tourney, the Super Falcons will move to the Avita Resort in Bad Tatzmannsdorf in Austria for their final camping ahead of the 8th FIFA Women’s World Cup finals, which kicks off from June 7 to July 7.
The Super Falcons will take on Norway, Korea Republic and tournament host France in the group stage of the competition.
24 SUPER FALCONS IN SPAIN
Goalkeepers: Tochukwu Oluehi; Alaba Jonathan; Chiamaka Nnadozie
Defenders: Faith Michael; Onome Ebi; Osinachi Ohale; Josephine Chukwunonye; Ngozi Ebere; Patricia George
Midfielders: Ngozi Okobi; Rita Chikwelu; Halimatu Ayinde; Cecilia Nku; Ogonna Chukwudi
Forwards: Asisat Oshoala; Rasheedat Ajibade; Anam Imo; Chinaza Uchendu; Courtney Dike; Desire Oparanozie; Ini-Abasi Umotong; Alice Ogebe; Antionette Oyedupe Payne; Uchenna Kanu
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COMMENTS
Good development good to see the addition of Payne and uchenna Kanu.
Very good selection. So happy to see Toni Payne’s name here, and also the return of Courtney Dike. I want to believe that Francesca Ordega has been left out to settle in at her new club in China, but can’t say why Amarachi Okoronkwo is not in the list (she had a sterling performance in the games she played at the African Championship). Also I still don’t know what the story is with Esther Sunday and Evelyn Nwabuoku. Hopefully, these missing names will be given opportunity to fight for shirts before the final World Cup list.
Overall I think this team may have the best preparation ever by our female national team. Kudos to NFF. Something good will definitely come out of this good preparation.
Kudos to the NFF for this arrangements. As much as I will not criticize these ladies for whatever outcome at the Mundial. With the kind of preparation they’re having anything is possible. This is indeed the best preparation ever by our female national team. I really love the addition of Oyedupe Payne and Courtney Dike in particular. Some are there to fight for a WorldCup spot while others can be recalled during full camping. Overall, a very balanced squad selected by Swedish gaffer.
Wow, Toni Payne has been invited ; fantastic!!!!!!
Bring on France!
Was someone in the NFF reading my contributions here?
Now this is the squad list I’ve been waiting to see….the team is gradually taking shape. Something tells me Kanu and Ogebe will eventually make way for ordega in the final 23. A very strong semblance with the 2015 squad, if I may add. Exciting times ahead for the falcons.
Same thoughts. I also believe Kanu and Ogebe will drop and be replaced by Ordega and that would be our 23. Hopeful for a better outing this year.
This is amazing the squad is looking good with the recent additions.The team can only get better and from recent developments we have course to be optimistic.
Meanwhile,the gaffer has been consistent with featuring same players in the defence and midfield departments in the build up to world cup.What i can deduce here is that he is building team chemistry using the same players in the defence and midfield in test games and mini tournaments preparatory to the big one the world cup so that they can build a formidable and sensational synergy.They have made mistakes in this test games and have learnt from those mistakes with more build up matches i believe with this system the team can only get better and hopefully up it’s level to the likes of Norway.France especially playing at home is in another league our hopes would be on getting what points is necessary from Korea and Norway games to get to the second round which is achievable.
Ah my brother….it is only in Nigeria that ‘people who know football’ will want the coach to play 11 different sets of players every match o. Since there are over 2000 professional footballers around the world who are carrying Nigeria passports, all of them must get invitations to camp. The coach must always change his team and play with 30something different formations and 120something different strategies….that’s their own definition of a coach who is working.
Hahaha Drey,I get what you mean.Some people actually fail to understand how this things work and have made comments undeserving of coaches who have done amazingly well and rather deserves commendations for a job well done.
Candidly,coaches around the world can only succeed building a team with a collection of between thirty to thirty five sets of players of which 23 of the best from this collections are called up for national assignments.This is potentially a resourceful strategy to get the optimum and team bonding from the best players a country has.
Rohr and Dennerby is using similar strategies to prosecute matches and prepare their teams for tournaments,and so far the results is there for all to see.
oops!are using
I think, this is the first time in Nigeria female football history that a coach will comb every where in the world for the possible best 23 gladiators to represent our dear nation. I took my time to researched on the name of everyone on that list and I realized that the old of mediocrity has passed and it’s now time for hard work and merit.
God bless Nigeria.
God bless the Falcons.
God bless coach Dennerby and his entire staff.
I have often said it that I strongly suspect this Super Falcons outfit will be a different proposition from previous ones.
Having said that, the team of 2015 wasn’t really bad either. They drew their first match against a strong Sweden side and narrowly lost just 1:0 to powerhouse USA.
Where they goofed was their second match against Australia because they took their eyes off the ball and lost 2:0. From there, they gave themselves a mountain to climb ; one the could not overcome.
However, if we go back to 2011 when Nigeria was in a similar group as this year’s group, the Falcons actually won one match but failed to progress because the tournament only had 16 teams.
If it were now with 24 teams, the 3 points they had in 2011 could have been enough to provide a passange to the second round.
In 2011, they had Germany (hosts and former champions) , France (semi- finalists) and Canada (whom they will face next week). Yet they only narrowly lost 1:0 to mighty Germany and France and then recorded a famous 1:0 victory against Canada.
If the Super Falcons could have been able to extract 3 points from their group in 2011, they should be able to do the same from this group containing France (perhaps their biggest threat), Norway (a match a believe the Falcons should endeavour to extract at least 1 point) and South Korea (a match they must win to give themselves breathing space going into the other 2 matches).
My only fear is the average age of the players: many of whom have been around for some time now.
I have observed several times that a lot of the goals the Falcons concede under Dennerby have been in second half of matches.
Could this be because his mature ladies get tired quickly?
Whichever way, experience comes with age and I expect the experience of these ladies coupled with the exuberance and hunger of some of the younger players (like Ajibade) to see the them through.
End of part 1…
Part 2
The premise of my assumption that the Super Falcons will do well in France are based on 3 factors:
1) Fantastic preparation of the team that has seen them play no less than 11 high calibre matches in 4 months (December 2018 – March 2019). Other matches are also in the pipeline between now and the commencement of World Cup hostilities in June.
2) Pedigree of the players: many the homebased Super Falcons play for some of the most well-run clubs in Nigeria like Rivers Angels) . They will also have the benefits of the Wafu tournament in May to put them in competitive tournament frame-of-mind prior to the world cup in June.
The foreign-based players are all playing regularly in competitive leagues across the globe.
A bulk of the Super Falcons players have World Cup experience either at senior or junior levels.
So, we have players who can “do the business”.
3) Coach: Coach Dennerby is saying all the right things. He instills confidence in his players and this resonates with a large section of fans.
He doesn’t boast! No. He just comes across as being positive in the face of very difficult challenges.
When I saw Nigeria’s opponents in France, I was initially deflated, however, many of Dennerby’s soundbites have made me to start believing in possibilities.
End of part 2.
Part 3 – Dennerby’s influence
To be able to carry fans along and make them identify with their teams is not as easy as it may sound.
As fantastic as Jose Mourinho is, he has at times failed to carry fans along with him. On the contrary, fans are loving the feel-good-factor brought by the way Ole Gunnar Solskjær has gone about his business.
That then brings me to Super Falcons coach Thomas Dennerby whose soundbites have done more to build confidence and raise the profile of the Super Falcons at a time when the have tough challenges ahead.
Just take a look at some of these soundbites from the Swede:
“we are going to compete and not just to participate”
“If you have to make real impact at the FIFA World Cup, you have to beat the strong teams. That is what we have to prepare for.”
“The Koreans are very technical and have pace, but we will confront them with our physical strength, ability and pace of our own and we have a great chance in there”
“I know the Norway team, more than they know us or can hope to know us. At the end of the day, it would come down to preparations”
“The French team is, of course, world-class, and I know we would have to fight very hard against them”.
I would like to thank this coach for all these words of encouragement; I have a strong belief that his ladies will rise to the occasion in the summer.
THE END
Una toooooo much,Deo,AK,Greenturf,Dr Drey,Adisboy,Alphy aand others am just reading ur sumptuous analysis with joy.Now u see why we can’t fight.One love to u all.
Deo, great analysis and i agree with the vast majority of what you have written. However, i feel there is a misconception on the average age of the team. We tend to forget that the Oparanozies,Okobis, Ordegas,Ohale’s & Jonathan’s were playing at either U17, U20 or both as at 2010. Oparanozie, Okobi, Ordega were fast tracked from U17 to the Super Falcons that same year. That would put them between the ages of 25-27, this cannot be old. Similar with Ayinde and Oshola who were U20s between 2012 & 2014. Then there is Imo, Ajibade, Uchendu who between 2016 & 2018 were U20. I believe only 3 players are over 30 while the vast majority are mid 20s or younger so personally don’t agree with the age thing. As per results, against China they made mistakes during the 2nd half which could have been fatigue as they arrived just 48 hrs earlier. Against Austria, having a player sent off in the 5th minute was the major reason for the 4-1 scoreline. We have seen similar recently happen to Arsenal and few days ago to Man U, when they go down to 10 how they cave in to pressure from the opposition, in Arsenal’s case from a winning position ending up conceeding 3 goals away to Rennes. I can bet with 11 on the field Austria would not have won that game. But all in all great analysis.
I think its as a result of the fact that we’ve had the core of the team around for long, that’s why we seem to misconceive that idea of the team being hold. The likes of Mia Hamm, Abby Wanbach, Birgit Prinz all played into their mid 30s. Even our own legendary Florence ‘floxy’ Omagbemi, Rita nwadike, Maureen Madu (had over 100 caps for the super falcons), Marvelous mercy akide and Perpetua ‘pepe’ nkwocha played well into their 30s too. Infact Pepe holds the record for the oldest goal scorer in AWCON when she netted against Namibia in 2014 at the age of 40 or so.
I think they just need to up their fitness training regimes. At the AWCON, we barely managed to hang on till the end of 120 minutes against Cameroon and SA. If they can add a whole lot more of fitness, stamina and physicality to the technical side of what dennerby is inputting into the team now….I can assure we will hit the 6 points mark in the group stage
Thank God for journey mercies. Make us proud Super Falcons. I am deeply happy with this list. Can’t wait for the action to begins. Wishing you ladies a good outing in France. God bless Nigeria!!!
Good list but the quality of play results and confidence building is all that counts I am yet to be convinced that the coach can communicate with these girls because he is a good coach but his results are slightly below average against average teams.
Super Falcons Watch
It rained goals in Portugal yesterday as Super Falcons Finisher Chinanza Uchendu scored a 90th minute goal in her team’s 9:0 obliteration of Clube de Albergaria.
Braga’s goals came from Francisca (8′), Keane (13′) and Vanessa Marques (31 ‘) in the first half and then, Vanessa Marques (55 ‘), Laura Luís (70’), Murnan (80 ‘), Laura Luís (86’), Regina (88 ‘) and finally Uchendu in 90 minutes.
The 21 year old forward, who recently featured for the Super Falcons in their gallant 2:1 loss to Canada in a friendly match, will be hoping to her replicate her club goal scoring form for the national team if selected for the world cup in June.
Super Falcons Watch 2
The search for her first goal in Scandinavian soccer continues for Ajibade Rasheedat who saw 60 minutes of action today in her team’s 1:1 draw against Trondheims-Orn FC
Ms Stefanovic scored a 90th minute goal for Ajibade’s team Avaldsnes to end the game at 1:1 after Ms Adsero had given the opposition the lead at the 26th minute.
Ajibade, who was on Super Falcons duties against Canada earlier in the week, started the match but was substituted in the second half.
Super Falcons watch 3
Toni Payne, who was called up to the Super Falcons squad against Canada, was on from start to finish this weekend for her club Sevilla against Real Betis in a pulsating match that ended 1:1.
The America-raised 23 year old deadly finisher did not take part in the 2:1 loss to Canada but fans will be hoping for her to be part of the team moving forward.
Her goal scoring prowess will be expected to complement that of Ordega, Oshoola, Oparanozie and Oshoola if she is selected to go to the World Cup in France
Super Falcons watch 4
Midfielders Halimat Ayinde and Ngoze Okobi both featured for Eskilstuna United in their 0:1 away loss to Rosengard fc in Sweden today.
Spotting Jersey 18, Ayinde started the match from the start while her compatriot Ngozi (wearing jersey 25) was introduced in 68 minutes.
Both ladies started the Super Falcons’ match against Canada in the 2:1 friendly loss.
Barring a dramatic to loss of form, both highly experiennced Swedish-based midfielders will be expected to be named in the Super Falcons squad to the World Cup in June.
Super Falcons Watch 5
It was Port Harcourt vs Enugu in Scandinavia as Faith Ikidi and Ugonna Chukwudi’s worlds collided in the Swedish women’s league today.
In this intense encounter, it was Port Harcourt-born Ikidi who won the day as her club Pitea FC overcame Ugonna’s Djurgarden 1:0.
Both ladies started the match and played 90 minutes. Ikidi was part of a 3-lady defensive wall while Ugonna took her place in her’s team’s midfield.
Ikidi is almost sure banker to be on the place to France while Ugonna – who only just returned to the Super Falcons for recent assignments – will be expected to fight for her place in midfield.
Super Falcons watch 6
Rita Chikwelu, who has thus far scored 4 goals for Nigeria under Dennerby, played her part in a pulsating encounter that saw her team Kristianstads thrash Bunkeflo 5:1 in a home match today in Sweden.
Goals from Gudmundsdottir and Edgren gave Chikwelu’s team a 2:0 lead in the first half before Welin, Sigfusdottir and Ivarsson added gloss to the scoreline with 3 more goals in the second half.
Nilsson pulled 1 back for the opposition in 84 minutes but the game was well dead and buried by then.
Thirty one year old Rita was on from start to finish.
Super Falcons watch 7
Ngozi Ebere, who once played for Barcelona and PSG, was in action for her club in Norway yesterday as they fell 3:1 to LSK Kvinner in an away encounter.
Arna-Bjornar (Ngozi’s club) were actually on par 1:1 at the end of the first half but they conceded 2 goals in the second half to be sunk 3:1 in the end.
Port Harcourt-born Ebere is one of the stalwarts of the Super Falcons defence and she will be expected to be named in the Super Falcons squad to the world cup
.
Super Falcons Watch 8
Oparanozie’s club Guingamp were also a in action over the weekend.
They lost 0:1 to Soyaux.
Unconfirmed reports have it that Oparanozie was in the squad for the encounter.
Super Falcons watch 9
Confirmation that Oparanozie trained with the team ahead of the weekend’s fixture.
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