Nigeria: World Cup – Has Super Falcons Wings for New Heights?

Daily Independent (Lagos)

Pius Anakali

25 June 2011

opinion

Football fans are in for another thrilling time as the attention shifts again to Germany, where the Nigeria national female team, the Super Falcons, is competing for the fifth time in the World Cup. In this reports PIUS ANAKALI asks if the present set of female football talents will excel where their male counterparts in the Super Eagles have failed.

Will Germany give Super Falcons its first ever breakthrough in female football? Can the female national side live up to its rating in Germany or will the team end up as one of the participants?

Having participated in five previous World Cups, the impression now is that the nation’s representative in Germany should have garnered enough experience to excel at this year’s edition.

Having qualified for the knockout stages of the World Cup before at the 1999 edition in the USA, the Super Falcons is in good shape for a better showing this time around, when the team files out against Canada today.

Standing in the Super Falcons’ way in its pursuit for a quarterfinal berth in Group A are, defending champions and hosts Germany, France and Canada. Already, first-choice goalkeeper of the Super Falcons, Precious Dede, says she is keen to see the African champions start off their World Cup campaign on a winning note against France.

“It will be very good to start our World Cup by beating France. Every team at this World Cup worked hard to get here. As champions of Africa, we know that so much will be expected from us and we will give our best to make sure that we qualify from our group.

“But first our focus is making sure that we start on a good note (against France) on Sunday,” the 31-year-old goalkeeper said.

To make that dream real, team coach, Eucharia Uche, has selected a crack team of talented players comprising Perpetua Nkwocha, Stella Mbachu, Ebere Orji, Francisca Ordega, Desire Oparanozie, Sarah Michael, Helen Ukaonu and Faith Ikidi.

Though the Nigeria side will be a hard nut for any opponent to crack, yet Group A will be highly unpredictable. In the group is France, there is also CONCACAF champions, Canada; African champions, Nigeria; and current holders, Germany. Interestingly, the four teams have the ability to go a long way in the tournament. Nigeria and Germany have selected the brightest of their young talents that lit up the U-20 final just a year ago. Kim Kulig, Alexandra Popp and Bianca Schmidt – all have another chance to shine on home soil, while Nigeria include no fewer than eight faces from the U-20 squad that finished second last year.

Nigeria’s Super Falcons has been a dominant force in women football in Africa for almost two decades, but it has been a perennial underachiever on the world stage. As it embarks on yet another audacious journey to claim some elusive silverware at the highest level, more questions have again been asked about this Super Falcons team. Will this team do well?

However its members seem more determined, focused and wise than before, considering their wide exposure and tall experience.

Most of the players of the famed “golden generation” are on their last lap and probably playing at their last world championship, and they should certainly be driven to go out with one last hurrah.

After wrapping up yet another continental triumph at the Africa Women’s Championship in South Africa in November, the Super Falcons has since shifted its attention to Germany 2011 where it hopes to elevate its game against some of the world’s most decorated teams.

Nigeria has reached all five previous FIFA Women’s World Cup finals, but it has only advanced out of the group stage once. For a side that has always been blessed with abundant talents and natural goalscorers, its problems at previous tournaments might be said to run deeper than strictly the level of ability in the team. Whether the players can put aside their anxieties and play to the standard they are capable of will be the big question for the African champions.

Throughout the years, Nigeria has been a talent factory for female football on the continent. The duo of Stella Mbachu and Perpetua Nkwocha remain the most potent weapons of the Super Falcons. Although they are both probably on their way out of the international stage, both Mbachu and Nkwocha have been enjoying a rich vein of form lately. Two-time African Player of the Year, Nkwocha, has been one of the deadliest strikers in the game for many years and is expected to, once again, lead the onslaught with the lethal strike of her shooting arsenal against opposition teams in Germany.

Former Super Falcons legend, Ngozi Uche, has done a sterling job since taking over the reins of this team. When she took over as Super Falcons coach, there were some doubts about her ability to lead Africa’s marquee side despite the fact that she earned her stripes while deputising for several coaches. She used that time to learn the ropes and when she was given the job, she rose to the occasion. At the championships in South Africa, she was the only female coach of the eight guiding the teams.

With that experience at her disposal, it is expected that she should be able to lead the team to higher heights in Germany.

While Nigeria looks good for the World Cup, reigning champions, Germany, is the favourites to come out on top in Group A. While the Germans will have to handle the pressure of performing in front of their own fans, the battle-hardened Nigerians and Canadians can be expected to mount a strong challenge and the French showed what they can do in a hugely impressive qualifying display. With no reputation to protect and nothing to lose, Les Bleues are sure to pose a danger to their esteemed rivals.

Given their record on the big stage and their current form, the hosts will be expected to top the section. That said, they face plenty pitfalls in a potentially challenging pool, and though they overwhelmed Nigeria and Canada in recent friendlies, they cannot afford to be complacent.

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