The Super Falcons have received praise from certain football industry insiders for their heroics at the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup in Australia and New Zealand.
The Super Falcons exited the Women’s flagship competition on Monday, according to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), after falling to England in the Round of 16 after a 0-0 stalemate at Brisbane Stadium, losing 2-4 on penalties.
Speaking to NAN on Monday, a variety of football stakeholders said that the team performed admirably and surpassed expectations for Nigerians, the continent, and the entire football globe.
The Super Falcons were the deserving team, according to Mouktar Mohammed, the chairman of the FCT Football Association (FA), but they lost because they had a better game plan, put England under pressure, and had more opportunities.
“The Super Falcons and the technical team did fantastic work and provided a wonderful demonstration of the spirit and excellence of Nigeria.
“This demonstrates how far our women’s football has come.
“They arrived in Australia and demonstrated to the world that they were prepared to compete against any side at the World Cup and come away victorious.
He remarked, “Penalty is always a gamble so they must keep their heads up. They gave England a very good match.
Mohammed, who was just elected FCT FA Chairman for a second term, advised the team to learn from its mistakes and move forward from the competition.
“We are full of admiration and incredibly proud of the girls, but even though we lost this match, we would have changed history.
“Now they must be honoured, congratulated, and given all appropriate credit.
“This fine run would act as inspiration and motivation for younger generations of girls aspiring to play professionally and for Nigeria,” he said.
The Super Falcons, according to Akin Akinbobola, former chairman of Akure’s Sunshine Stars FC, have made Africa proud and elevated Nigeria to the forefront of female football worldwide.
“They have performed incredibly well, and if you had the opportunity to see every one of their games during this World Cup, you would see that they have never been embarrassed.
“They really signed their presence on the field for each of the games, whether they won or drew.
“The show of character, talent display, and of course, the determination to excel was quite obvious in their games,” he remarked.
The coaching staff was singled out for appreciation by Akinbobola, who noted that their technical and tactical choices were impeccable.
“I am also thrilled with the coaching staff’s technical performance.
“Maybe because of my history as a football coach myself, I found all of their changes and tactical approach to the game to be a thrill.
“I was able to watch the matches, but I was also able to examine and understand their technical strategy for every match.
I realised that the coaching staff did a fantastic job, and this will be the first time the Super Falcons travel to the world cup without being embarrassed, the player remarked.
Especially after playing against some of the most powerful teams in the world and triumphing, he said the girls deserved to be congratulated for making the nation and continent proud.
Prior to the next World Cup, he recommended the NFF to keep the majority of the team’s players while progressively replacing the older ones with younger players.
“They need to be praised, shown gratitude, and inspired to stick together as a team.
“At least 70% of the girls must remain together, and new players may be brought in to replace veteran players.
“The veteran players shouldn’t be totally replaced; instead, they should be eased out gradually as new players are brought in to help the club develop over the course of one or two years.
“With this approach, we will be able to keep up with the calibre and tempo of African female football.
“After that, we’ll return to the world cup and, with God’s help, try to reach the quarterfinals,” he stated.
Former FCT FA Vice Chairman Patrick Ngwaogu said that many Nigerians, including himself, never expected much from the team, particularly due to the distractions that surfaced prior to the tournament’s start.
The girls performed admirably and responded to the situation in a classic Nigerian manner.
“They did well, particularly in the game against England. Only sheer luck kept the English team alive.
“Well, that’s just the way football is; we’d go home and rethink our strategy for the following game.
We have a pretty youthful team that will be mature enough during the next World Cup, so that’s good enough, he remarked.
