Paris 2024: Super Falcons ready for must-win clash against Japan

With their backs against the wall, the Super Falcons are ready for Wednesday’s must-win clash against Japan in the Women’s Football Tournament of the ongoing Paris 2024 Olympics.

The Falcons are in a very tight situation after succumbing to two narrow 1-0 defeats against Brazil and Spain.

Though many blame the Super Falcons for the precarious position they find themselves, the Nigeria women’s team believe they can do the needful by beating Japan in commanding fashion at the Stade de la Beaujoire in Nantes on Wednesday.

If indeed coach Randy Waldrum’s ladies get the job done against the Japanese, they stand the chance of earning a place in the quarter-finals, albeit as one of the two best third-placed teams heading into that stage.

Done it before

In a 2004 Women’s Olympic Football Tournament match in Piraeus, Greece, the Super Falcons defeated Japan 1-0, with Vera Okolo’s goal earning Nigeria a crucial victory.

The Super Falcons’ win, which secured their first and only quarter-final spot in the tournament to date, also marked their sole Olympic victory in 24 years of participation.

“Victory over Japan is possible. We will work hard so that we can accomplish that. The Super Falcons have done it before and we can do it again,” said captain Rasheedat Ajibade in press statement issued by the NFF on Tuesday.

Missed opportunities

Ajibade, Asisat Oshoala and Chinwendu Ihezuo were all guilty of missing gilt-edged opportunities that came their way in the game against world champions Spain on Sunday.

The missed opportunities cost Nigeria valuable point(s) and also denied the players a chance to join the exclusive list of goal-scorers for the country in the Women’s Olympic Football Tournament.

Only three players have scored for Nigeria’s women team at the Olympic Games.

Mercy Akide-Udoh, the elegant forward who is now FIFA’s Goodwill Ambassador for Women’s Football, is the run-away top scorer for Nigeria with four goals.

She netted two at the Sydney Olympics, in the 1-3 losses to Norway (in Canbera) and USA (in Melbourne). She also scored twice in Athens four years later, in the 1-2 defeats to Sweden and Germany.

Four-time African Player of the Year Perpetua Nkwocha trails with two goals, scored in the 1-3 defeat by China in Canberra in 2000 and in the 1-3 loss to Brazil in Beijing eight years later.

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Vera Okolo’s is also on the list with her lone strike coming in the win over Japan in Athens 20 years ago

Though the Super Falcons are beaming with confidence, nothing suggests the Japanese team will be easy to trample upon.

The Asian giants lost 2-1 to Spain in their opening game but bounced back to beat Brazil by the same margin.