Super Falcons should maintain the momentum
Penultimate Saturday, the Super Falcons of Nigeria put up a brilliant display against Les Bleues of France in their second international friendly with one of Europe’s powerhouses. Although the hosts dominated proceedings, the nine-time Africa champions weren’t disgraced as they made history despite the 1-2 loss. In three previous encounters, the Super Falcons conceded 10 […]
FILE PHOTO: Super Falcons players celebrating a goal against Cape Verde
Penultimate Saturday, the Super Falcons of Nigeria put up a brilliant display against Les Bleues of France in their second international friendly with one of Europe’s powerhouses. Although the hosts dominated proceedings, the nine-time Africa champions weren’t disgraced as they made history despite the 1-2 loss. In three previous encounters, the Super Falcons conceded 10 goals without scoring any. So, getting one past Les Bleues in their fourth time of asking was a historic moment.
It would be recalled that their first-ever encounter was a friendly in 2018. Les Bleues hammered their opponents 8-0 as Valérie Gauvin fired a hat-trick while Super Falcons defender Faith Ikidi-Michael scored an own goal. The defeat equaled the Falcons’ biggest-ever defeats – by Norway at the 1995 FIFA World Cup finals in Sweden and by Germany in a friendly in Leverkusen’s Bay Arena on 25th November 2010.
However, recent results between the two national teams have shown that the yawning gap that once existed has waned considerably. Before the 0-8 humiliation in 2018, Nigeria had lost 0-1 to France at the 2011 FIFA Women’s World Cup in Germany, and when they met again at the 2019 edition of the tournament, which France hosted, the same scoreline was recorded in that feisty contest. Therefore, even as the last match ended in another defeat, there were positives to take home. In fact, the Super Falcons scored for the first time against their more formidable opponents.
Nevertheless, the early stages of the match played inside the 18,000-capacity Stade Raymond Kopa – home ground of Ligue 1 side Angers SCO – pointed towards another massacre, but the Super Falcons weathered the storm to make history. One of the most experienced players on the pitch, Eugénie Claudine Le Sommer, playing her 197th match for Les Bleues, gave the hosts the lead when she scored her 94th international goal in the 29th minute, and eight minutes later, Tunisia-born Amel Majri doubled the lead.
Many thought it would be a one-way traffic situation, but the Super Falcons, who refused to succumb to the early pressure, were rewarded with a well-deserved goal from a breathtaking counter-attack. France had failed to utilise a corner kick in first-half added time, and a long clearance from the back found Spain-based Gift Monday, who quickly found Montpellier FC of France forward Ifeoma Onumonu for the latter to make history by scoring the Falcons’ first-ever goal against Les Bleues.
Despite the fact that the Super Falcons halved the deficit before the break, the future was still not assured as there were fears that the inclement weather would hamper their performance in the second half. Of course, the frosty and misty weather that prevailed throughout the match, in a way, tampered with the visitors’ performance, but they fought resiliently to earn a respectable scoreline.
In recent times, it has been difficult for me to watch to the very end any match that kicks off late in the evening, but I didn’t struggle to stay awake as I remained glued to my TV from the beginning to the end of the match. I was very satisfied with what I saw from both sides. The Super Falcons indeed played as if they were in a World Cup final. There wasn’t any sign of an underdog in the contest. Interestingly, the scorer of Nigeria’s goal plies her trade with Montpellier FC in France.
The Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) has said it is blooding a new team that will last the distance. Undoubtedly, this bold move would yield results if the federation continues to expose the Super Falcons to such quality friendly matches. When the former African champions were to play two friendly matches against Algeria, I frowned at it because I doubted if the North African ladies possessed the capacity to test the new Super Falcons’ abilities to deliver on the world stage. In the end, the Super Falcons easily rolled over the Algerians, winning 6-1 on aggregate.
Although the general belief is that there are no more minnows in world football, it isn’t true in all cases. This is because some of the less endowed countries would require a special miracle to beat formidable women’s football nations like Spain, Brazil, the USA, Canada, Australia, England, Japan, South Korea, and China.
Therefore, the Super Falcons, having emerged as a dominant force in Africa, must always test their might against some of the leading teams in women’s football. So, I reiterate that the friendly against France fits perfectly into the caliber of tune-up matches the Super Falcons should be playing at every given opportunity.
Since one of the reasons the NFF secured the friendly match with France is to prepare the Super Falcons for the 2025 Africa Women’s Cup of Nations in Morocco, I want to encourage the football federation not to rest on its oars. The team should be provided with more friendly matches to build on the positives recorded in the encounter with France.
Interestingly, five out of the six home-based players who made the trip to France actually tasted action for a few minutes. Surely, Sikiratu Isah, Adoo Yina, Josephine Mathias, all of Nasarawa Amazons, and Mercy Omokwo of Bayelsa Queens, as well as Shukurat Oladipo of FC Robo Queens, can’t wait to have another opportunity to add to their senior international caps. My sister, Adoo, in particular, is still on cloud nine. I hope she won’t over-celebrate her senior international debut.
Let me conclude that if the Super Falcons maintain the performance they exhibited against Le Bleues, nothing would stop them from reclaiming the African title next year. Recently, they seemed to have surrendered their leadership of women’s football on the continent to the Banyana Banyana of South Africa, but with what they displayed in Angers, they can easily recover their lost crown. I am confident because the Super Falcons I saw against France showed resilience, courage, and hunger to conquer any continental opponent.