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2022 Women’s Africa Cup of Nations – Nigeria

Alik Hakhverdyan
Alik Hakhverdyan
Morocco is ready to host the rest of the continent for the 2022 TotalEnergies Africa Women’s Cup of Nations (AWCON) tournament.

It may feel like just yesterday when the continent gathered in Cameroon for the 2021 TotalEnergies Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) tournament but truth is that it’s been four months already.

Ahead of the women’s flagship tournament, we shine the spotlight on Nigeria, one of the top five teams to look forward to taking the tournament by storm in Morocco.

Brief history:

Nicknamed the Super Falcons, the Nigeria W team have been to the AWCON formerly known as the African Women’s champions 13 times. The West African giants made a first appearance at the tournament in 1991, going all the way to clinch the title in style.

Since then, the Super Falcons have been unstoppable and emerged champions at the last edition of the tournament staged in Ghana in 2018.

That trophy triumph saw Nigeria W win its record 11th AWCON trophy to set itself apart from the rest of the countries on the continent.

This year, Nigeria W will be in Morocco to fight for a 12th title, a feat that looks possible looking at the strong squad of the side.

Preparations:

Last month, Super Falcons head coach Randy Waldrum invited 32 players for a two-week training camp in Morocco ahead of the Women Africa Cup of Nations.

The strong squad has Asisat Oshoala, Onome Ebi, Francisca Ordega, Ashleigh Plumptre, and Rasheedat Ajibade amongst the expected top players to grace the upcoming tournament.

While in Morocco, Nigeria W will be playing several indoor friendlies to finalise the preparation for the AWCON. It is fair to say that camping in the host nation will increase the odds for the favourites.  

Recent friendlies:

In the final stages of the qualifiers for the 2022 AWCON, Nigeria W survived two top tests. The first was an unwanted fixture against the Black Queens of Nigeria. The Super Falcons won 2-1 on aggregate to progress to the final stage of the qualifiers.

Paired against Ivory Coast W, Nigeria W recorded wins for both the home and away games to secure qualification to the Morocco tournament.

As part of preparations for the upcoming tournament, the Super Falcons have since April been playing some friendly matches.

An engagement with Canada last month proved to be a very good exercise although the side failed to record a win.

Nigeria W lost the first of the two friendlies by two goals to nothing before doing their homework to hold Canada W to a 2-2 draw in the reverse fixture three days later.

At the 2022 AWCON:

With less than three weeks to the start of the 2022 AWCON, time is not on the side of the Super Falcons. Coach Randy Waldrum must get his team to get the winning mentality back before the opening match of the tournament.

At the AWCON, Nigeria W have been pitted in Group C to face South Africa in the first group game.

It will be a replay of the 2018 AWCON final which created a rivalry between the two national teams.

With the Banyana Banyana having a strong team and booming with motivation to conquer the continent, that game is surely one to look forward to when the 2022 AWCON finally starts in Morocco.

Nigeria W will later take on Botswana and Burundi before closing Group C.

July 4: Nigeria v South Africa

July 7: Botswana v Nigeria

July 10: Nigeria v Burundi

Player to watch:

Four-time Africa Women’s Footballer of the Year winner Asisat Lamina Oshoala leads the Nigeria team as the best player. To a large extent, she is arguably the best player on the continent at the moment and will be the poster girl for the 2022 AWCON.

Yes, there may be a lot of top players on the Super Falcons team and Asisat may not be the captain, but the fact remains that she will be expected to make things happen for the team.

She comes to the tournament on the back of an excellent season in Spain where she plays for Barcelona W.

Asisat Oshoala, 27, played a vital role to help Barcelona W to clinch the Spanish Women’s league title, finishing the campaign with 20 goals and four assists to win the golden boot award.

With a player of her calibre, Nigeria W should live up to the hype around the team at the 2022 AWCON.

Head coach:

The Super Falcons head into the upcoming tournament with American tactician Randy Jordan Waldrum at the helm of affairs. The gaffer earned a lot of praise in the qualifiers and has been tipped to enjoy success at the 2022 AWCON with the current crop of players.

Things may not come easy but he has already shown that he is a man that can get the results when it matters most.

Countdown to 2022 AWCON:

Africa is just a couple of weeks away from the flagship women’s tournament organised by CAF

This year’s AWCON will feature 12 top teams including Burkina Faso, Tunisia, Burundi, Togo, Uganda, Senegal, and others.

Last edition finalists South Africa will try to run away with the trophy this time around.

 

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