Botswana head coach Alex Malete has said his team will fight hard to beat Nigeria’s Super Falcons in their clash at the 2024 Women’s Africa Cup of Nations.
The Group B encounter will hold at the Larbi Zaouli Stadium, Casablanca on Thursday (today).
The Mares, who lost their first game at the WAFCON 2022 finals against Algeria must avoid defeat to have any chance of making it to the knockout round.
Defeat will see them exit the competition in the first round like they did on their maiden appearance three years ago in Morocco.
The Super Falcons put up a superb performance in their 3-0 victory over Tunisia on Sunday.
The nine-time champions are the overwhelming favorites going into this game.
Malete is however optimistic his side can get a positive result against Nigeria.
“Tomorrow’s (today) game against Nigeria is an opportunity for us. An opportunity that we cannot afford not to take,” Malete told a press conference in Casablanca.
“We didn’t start the tournament very well. We believe that tomorrow we have to play every moment, every second, from the first minute to the last minute. Something that we didn’t do well against Algeria.
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Previous Meeting
Nigeria, and Botswana met for the first time at the WAFCON 2022 finals also hosted by Morocco.
The Super Falcons, who lost their first game 1-0 to Banyana Banyana of South Africa bounced back to beat Botswana 2-0.
https://x.com/NGSuper_Falcons/status/1942984826279317656?t=fc9elj_1rhmFVbTHeZb5Ng&s=19
Forward Ifeoma Onumonu opened scoring for Nigeria in the first half with a fine finish.
Benfica of Portugal midfielder Christy Ucheibe netted the second with a bullet header in the second half.
Madugu Upbeat
The Super Falcons, a dominant force in women’s football in Africa,are targeting a 10th title in Morocco.
Head coach Madugu said they are firmly focused on achieving their objective.
“As I said before the commencement of the tournament, we remain focused on our Mission X and we believe that victory over Botswana is a huge possibility,” he told thenff.com.
“We are taking it one match at a time without taking any team for granted.”
The encounter will kick-off at 8pm Nigeria time.
By Adeboye Amosu
1 Comment
Please fight hard, come out and play football.