Nigeria crushed Cape Verde 5-0 at the Moshood Abiola Stadium in Abuja on Thursday, kickstarting their campaign for a spot in the Women’s Africa Cup of Nations (WAFCON) of 2020.
With goals from Monday Gift and Uchenna Kanu and Esther Okoronkwo each, the Super Falcons defeated the minnows handily.
Even without their best player, Asisat Oshoala, the record WAFCON winners were superior to their opponents. They got off to a good start in the game, and Kanu quickly opened the scoring sheet for them. After barely seven minutes in the game, she tapped in from close range.
Goalie Chiamaka Nnadozie denied Cape Verde despite their comeback to tie the game in the 16th minute with an incredible save.
Nine minutes later, Gift bundled the ball home to double the Super Falcons’ lead, and the Nigerian females were the winners of a goalmouth scramble. Then, in the 33rd minute, Rasheedat Ajibade missed the mark by an inch.
COMMERCIAL
But Kanu was far from finished. Just before the 45th minute, she made it three for the home team with a conversion on a cross from Toni Payne.
Celebrated a strong victory in Abuja! 💥💪 Our goals are now to improve on that performance in order to guarantee our spot in the second leg, which takes place in Praia, Cape Verde, on December 5.
When play resumed in the second half, Nigeria kept up the pressure on the Cape Verdean women. However, it took a strong effort by Gift’s replacement, Esther Okoronkwo, in the 66th minute for the Super Falcons to score their fourth goal of the game off a cross from Esther Akudo Ogbonna.
Eleven minutes later, Okoronkwo scored her second brace of the game to give Nigeria a fifth goal and solidified the Falcons’ lead over their opponents.
After completing the task, Madugu Justine, the acting coach, substituted Tochukwu Oluehi for Nnadozie in goal, while Chiamaka Okwuchukwu, making her debut, replaced Esther Akudo.
The game’s second leg will take place on Tuesday in the capital of Cape Verde, the seaside city of Praia. The winner of both matches will compete in the Morocco WAFCON in 2024.
Madugu played in his third game for the Super Falcons on Thursday as Head Coach Randy Waldrum was still out of the lineup.
