Nigeria and Canada, both FIFA Women’s World Cup regulars, will square off in their first Group B match. While Nigeria has appeared in all nine finals, Canada is making an appearance yet again after missing the 1991 inaugural event. On Friday, the two countries will clash at Melbourne Rectangular Stadium.
Nigeria qualified for the World Cup after finishing in the top four at the African Cup of Nations for Women. While they are considered giants in Africa, they are not so here. They are the lowest-ranked team in Group B, ranking 40th, and will face several top nations. With a game against the hosts on the horizon, the West Africans must get off to a solid start.
Nigeria has won their last three matches in a row and will be confident going here. Randy Waldrum’s ladies defeated New Zealand 3-0 in their final warmup game before this game. It was their second clean sheet in three games, and a similar outcome would be extremely motivating.
Canada will enter this game having only lost once against Nigeria in five matches. They are unbeaten in their last three meetings with Nigeria.
Canada had four losses and one win in the five matches preceding this one. However, their opponents have been significantly stronger, with all of them ranking in the top 11.
Prior to this game, they had lost 2-1 to France in their lone pre-tournament friendly encounter. It was the fourth time in five games that they had given up two or more goals. They fell 1-0 to Nigeria in the 2011 World Cup.
Canada does not have the best record going into this game, but that is only because they have played against superior opponents. Nigeria has recently played against lower-ranked opponents, and this will be different.
KICKOFF TIME: Nigeria versus Canada women’s match will go down on Friday at 3:30AM Nigerian time.
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