Super Falcons head coach Justine Madugu has revealed he will rotate his squad for the team’s final group game against Algeria, reports Completesports.com.
The nine-time champions booked a place in the quarter-finals at the ongoing WAFCON 2024 finals following a 1-0 victory over Botswana on Thursday.
Nigeria just one points against the Algerians to confirm first position in Group B.
Madugu stated that he would make changes to keep the players fresh, and give others a chance to contribute.
“We came here with 21 players and as much as possible, we try to manage our players very well, keep them fresh, avoid injuries and try to give everybody a chance to see what they can also do,” hd told a press conference in Casablanca.
“In the game we’ll be playing tomorrow, obviously there’ll be changes in the team because we need to give others an opportunity to have a feel of the competition. So there’ll be changes certainly.”
Read Also:WAFCON 2024: Super Falcons Focused On Title Hunt — Echegini
Tough Task Ahead
The Super Falcons could face hosts Atlas Lionesses of Morocco or Copper Queens of Zambia in the quarter-finals.
Both teams are unbeaten so far in the competition with two wins and one draw.
Morocco, and Zambia also defeated Nigeria at the last edition of the competition.
Madugu however said they are not scared of any opposition.
“We’ll take every game one at a time. The game before us is the game against Algeria. We’ll need to cross this hurdle and then we’ll have enough time to be able to look at who the next opponent will be,” Madugu added.
“However, we know the teams that would qualify once the draws were made. We always anticipate the possible opponents. Whichever one that comes our way, we’ll not be caught unawares because we know who we are expecting and the likely opposition. We have a plan for that and it will be taken care of at the appropriate time.”
By Adeboye Amosu
3 Comments
As hugely successful as hugely successful coaches like Pep Guardiola of Manchester City have been, many have accused them of over-thinking.
“Pep Guardiola has a history of (overthinking), overcomplicating and self-sabotaging.” Wrote Thomas Hindle of Goal.com in 2023.
“Stretching back to his time at Bayern Munich, Pep’s penchant for tinkering has seen his sides lose important contests, or crash out of competitions despite being clear favourites.” Hindle concluded.
The Guardian, The New York Times and Sky Sports are just a few other media outlets that have attributed instances where Guardiola’s Manchester City had surrendered the meal of victory to the gaping, waiting mouth of defeat, dumbfoundingly, due to overthinking.
At times, simplicity might be sufficient to sail into the stratosphere of success.
I think Super Falcons interim coach Madugu is keeping things simple.
As the Super Falcons stand on the precipice of locking horns with one of the two titans that slayed them in the last Wafcon, Morocco or Zambia, they do so with anxiety shrouding the competence of their coach.
He is accused of being out of his depths, with his Super Falcons playing with zero pattern, zero discipline, zero coordination, zero organisation and heading for the pit of doom, disgrace and disgust.
Well, I disagree (ha! ha!).
His team clearly has a pattern, a structure, an identity and a discernible approach. In the 2 games played, I could discern a 4-3-3 structure with creative outlets from attacking midfielders and 2 wingers, aided and abetted by overlapping fullbacks.
He also has to go down, thus far, as the only coach in Super Falcons history to deploy his substitutions to devastating effects.
A lot of fans remain unconvinced which is understandable. Many of the same fans were uncomfortable with Randy Waldrum’s pragmatic style of play at times, so it’s really hard to please people.
You can’t teach old dogs new tricks as even I am aware of Madugu’s low tactical ceiling . My worry is, now that the other coaches in this Wafcon know what Madugu is tactically about, will he be able to evolve? Will he be able to adapt? What other transformational tricks has he got up his coaching sleeves?
Old fashioned practical football, with an emphasis on roles, rather than responsibility, an emphasis on functions, rather than processes, an emphasis on specialisation rather than integration, still has a place in modern football in my humble opinion. I yearn for the football I grew up watching in the 90s making a comeback and making it to the podium. Enough of this overthinking tactical methodologies.
This practical football seems agree with how our ladies want to play; one gets the impression that the likes of Plumptre, Okoronkwo, Echegini, Ihezuo, Ohale and even Abiodun are enjoying “expressing themselves” within the framework of a formation that is not overthought, one that doesn’t require them as players to overthink.
Simplicity has been the best policy. Wingers as wingers, full backs as full backs, midfielders tackling as they like and defenders launching cruise missiles: happy players all round.
For me, a bit more discipline, higher levels of focus and concentration, enhanced cohesion, better decision making and a slight tweak to the starting 11 can do no harm.
I am in no way scared of either Morocco or Zambia, may the best woman win, on the day.
Dear @Deo,
First off, thank you for your consistently rich contributions to this platform over the years. You’ve carved a reputation as one of the few who balance football discourse with depth, decency, and decorum. Your writing, always conservative, optimistic, and tactfully non-confrontational, has been a breath of fresh air in a space where hot takes often overshadow reason. For that, I salute you.
But, my bro, allow me—just this once—to respectfully ruffle a few feathers on this beautifully feathered Falcon you’ve painted.
You see, while I share your nostalgia for 90s football and the romance of “players expressing themselves” without the paralysis of over-tactics, I’m afraid we may be overindulging the idea of tactical simplicity here. This is not Espana ’82. This is 2025, where even Seychelles U17s study tactical videos and track heatmaps.
Yes, freedom of expression is lovely—unless your fullback’s version of “expressing herself” is misplacing a pass that leads to a counterattack in the 89th minute. Tactical clarity isn’t the enemy, @Deo. It’s poor execution and inconsistent coaching choices that often muddy the waters.
Now, to the main attraction: Coach Justin Madugu and the gospel of “devastating substitutions.” You called them devastating. I agree—but perhaps not in the way you meant.
Sir, no doubt, his substitutions sometimes spark a late-game jolt, but can we be honest? Why are his most in-form and dangerous attacking players sitting pretty on the bench until the 60th or 70th minute? Are we running a football team or conducting a social experiment on delayed gratification?
You want to devastate the opposition? Start Ihezuo, Okoronkwo, or Echegini, and let the damage begin from minute one. This “impact sub” culture works only when:
You’re trying to preserve energy in a long tournament (fair),
You’re managing an aging squad (maybe),
You have the luxury of a strong starting eleven already doing the business (definitely not the case here).
We’ve been rescuing games that could’ve been killed early, and that’s dangerous football governance. You don’t bring out your nuclear weapons only after the house is already on fire.
Also, respectfully, calling our style “practical” might be generous. What we’ve seen sometimes looks like passion-led improvisation, powered more by individual brilliance than any deliberate tactical orchestration. Against lesser teams, we get away with it. But Morocco and Zambia? These are not Sunday picnic opponents. They will punish any hesitation, any poor starting lineup, and every sloppy pass in transition.
And while I love the optimism in your final paragraph—“May the best woman win on the day”—permit me to offer a dose of realism: the best woman might not win if the best women are still on the bench in the first half.
Let me close by returning the tone to gratitude. @Deo, you’re a scholar of the game, and your views always stimulate dialogue. I’m only asking that we sharpen our critical lenses here. You love this team—we all do—but sometimes love demands tough conversations.
As for Coach Madugu: great guy, promising tactician. But if he wants to make history and not headlines, he must start coaching the first half the way he’s been salvaging the second.
Warm regards,
@Papafem – Lover of the game, friend of straight-talking tactics.
Papa Fem,
You are so kind. Thanks for the kind words. Honestly, the maturity in how you conduct yourself on this platform is matchless, and for this, you are highly regarded.
To the elephant in the room, or for the purpose of this conversation, The Falcons in the nest. You see, I get uncomfortable whenever fans allege that our best players are on the bench. This, in itself, demonstrates massive disrespect for the starting 11 players and suggests that causal fans like myself know better than professional coaches.
Who are these second-rate players in the starting 11?
Oshoala: 1 goal and several near misses in just 90 minutes across 2 games in this tournament.
Babajide: 1 goal and 1 assist in 135 minutes across 2 matches in this tournament.
Payne and Abiodun: Seasoned professionals from top leagues with world cup and Wafcon experience.
I remember Dr Drey pleading with Kel and I to exercise caution when asking for Gift Monday to replace Onumonu in Wafcon 2022 and for Chidima Okeke to replace Plumptre at the 2024 Olympics. Ask Kel and I, how did it work out for us? We will not wait for grass to grow under feet to tell you that, on both occasions, it was a case of “be careful what you wish for”.
As for Ihezuo, the only damage she did was to my blood pressure by flopping spectacularly when handed a standing berth at the 2024 Olympics. Randy Waldrum would always admonish us to see Uchenna Kanu more as an impact sub but we refused. As a starter in centre games, Kanu seemed lost at sea.
“We’ve been rescuing games that could’ve been killed early, and that’s dangerous football governance.” PapaFem. With all due respect sir, this statement is what I want to call ‘terminological inexactitude’ (an elaborate way of saying is false).
What games were we rescuing? Which matches were you watching? V Tunisia, the subs were made very early and we were 2 goals up and guaranteed 3 points. V Botswana, we were cruising to a 0:0 draw which would have guaranteed second place in the group as “worst case scenario”. So, I ask you, which game was in need of “rescuing”?
“What we’ve seen sometimes looks like passion-led improvisation, powered more by individual brilliance than any deliberate tactical orchestration. Against lesser teams, we get away with it.” Papafem. This is another statement standing on shaky objectivity grounds. Italians who thought Nigeria was a “lesser team” in 1994 world cup almost ate their words. It is dangerous, even reckless, to see any team as lesser in international football.
You see, practical football focuses more on roles than responsibilities. You say we are not in Spain 1982, but, do you remember that the Netherlands, in the 1970s introduced the concept of complete football, the forerunner to what we see these days as tactical football where each player, even the goalkeeper, can perform the role of any other player on the pitch, thereby prioritising “responsibilities of the players” above the traditional “roles of the players”.
My point, no tactical formation is moribund. In the hands of an intelligent tactician, an ancient football philosophy can be resurrected all the way to the podium.
Using you own words, if the staring 11 selected by Madugu can score 2 goals against Tunisia before any sub was made, and can keep Pitbulls like Botswana at bay with “individual brilliance and passion led improvisation” (as you claim), doesn’t this in itself render your argument of playing out worst legs as starting 11 quite a disingenuous statement to make?
Papafem, I absolutely adore your writing style. Honestly I wish I could write like you and I wish I could conduct myself which such statesmanly maturity as you do.. it’s always a pleasure bouncing ideas with you.
*I couldn’t proofread this submission, so sorry for all the grammatical errors it contains.*