16th June, 2015
Nigeria’s Super Falcons face a battle of their life as they seek to advance to the next round of the ongoing FIFA Women’s World Cup in Canada.
They have a herculean task and a big hurdle to scale in their match against the United States women team scheduled for 1a.m. Nigerian time Wednesday in Vancouver.
With their current tally at four points, the US girls only need a draw to progress to the next round or a win to top the group. In contrast, not even the three points will necessarily guarantee safe passage for the Super Falcons, who have a solitary point going into this match. The odds seem to be very much in favour of the Stars and Stripes, who have four wins from four games against their African opponents, scoring 16 goals while conceding just twice. Their most recent meeting in the 2007 group stage ended in a narrow 1-0 victory for USA.
But former Falcons coach Eucharia Uche believes the Nigerian ladies have a mathematical chance of making the knockout stage of the World Cup. Uche said though the future looks bleak for the Nigerians, the side can exploit the cracks in the Stars and Stripes side.
“Nothing is impossible in football. The basic truth is that we are in a tight corner but all hopes are not lost.
“We have to win and win convincingly against the USA as the encounter is certain to be a do-or-die for both sides.
“If we win with a slim goal margin or draw against the USA we will not qualify because of our inferior goals record.
“We have minus two against the USA’s plus two, so we must beat them with at least three goals for a chance for straight qualification or as one of the best-placed losers.
“The USA is beatable with the form they have already shown at the ongoing championship. The USA defeated Australia 3-1 and held Sweden to a goalless draw while we forced Sweden to a 3-3 draw and lost 0-2 to Australia. That showed that the USA squad in Canada is quite vulnerable compared with past USA squads,” Uche said.
Former African Woman Footballer of the Year Perpetua Nkwocha has declared that the Falcons must do a lot more ahead of their game against United States. “We need to play as a team and work extra hard against USA,” said Nkwocha. Coach Edwin Okon will be desperate for a win to ensure that the Falcons do not crash out in the group stage of the tournament.
“We are not ready to go home. We came here with a mission and we would work hard to achieve that goal,” stated Okon.