Without a doubt, most Nigerian football fans are apprehensive as the Super Falcons go to the battlefield again against the Banyana Banyana of South Africa on Tuesday in Pretoria with the hope of breaking the Olympics jinx. It is now an open secret that the best two female football teams in Africa are locked in a fierce contest for one of the two tickets to the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris, France. Having navigated the other stages of the qualifiers, the two giants have come face to face in a two-legged playoff which began last Friday in Abuja.
Unfortunately, the Super Falcons who used to be a dominant force in Africa are presently walking a tight rope because the result they managed to grind out in the first leg of the playoff of the Paris 2024 qualifiers at the MKO Abiola National Stadium in Abuja isn't good enough.
Although the Banyana Banyana have considerably closed the gap on the Super Falcons, many Nigerians still believed that the former African champions would get a decent result to make the return leg a formality. However, when it mattered most, the Super Falcons struggled to a one nil victory which came from the spot.
To make matters worse, the Falcons weren't super as they literally handed over the second half of the match to their opponents. They were lucky to escape with the maximum points. This explains why the Banyana Banyana are still exuding so much confidence. They are now banking on home advantage to get back their pound of flesh.
Well, the Super Falcons know what is at stake. Having failed three times consecutively to qualify for the Olympics, the nine-time African champions need nobody to tell them that the battle of Pretoria is a must-win. It is on record that after three appearances at the Olympics at Sydney 2000, Athens 2004 and Beijing 2008, they have failed to reach the next three editions which is London 2012, Rio 2016 and Tokyo 2020. This means for 16 years, Nigeria has not featured in the women's football event at the world's biggest games and this is definitely a sad commentary on the powerhouse of African football.
In the present squad, only goalkeeper Tochukwu Oluehi has been to the Olympics. She was a member of the squad to the Olympics in Beijing, China. Apart from a few of them, most members of the present squad may not last up to 2028 when the next Olympic Games would take place. For this reason, Randy Waldrum's ladies must be ready to spill blood in Pretoria. This may be the last chance for the likes of Osinachi Ohale, Asisat Oshoala, Halimat Ayinde, Ashleigh Plumptre, Chiamaka Nnadozie, Michelle Alozie, Kanu Uchenna and Christy Uchebe and a host of others to become Olympians. It is common knowledge that female athletes hardly last like their male counterparts. This is one of the reasons the former Captain of the Super Falcons, Onome Ebi, who played for the national team in her early 40s is well celebrated.
So, even as the odds are against the Super Falcons in the return fixture on Tuesday, the hurdle is not insurmountable. If they up their game against the Banyana Banyana, the former African champions will pick the ticket to Paris 2024. We all know that every Nigerian team has the never-say-die spirit. Whenever they have their backs to the wall, they fight back.
Moreover, three key members of the team, the current African Women Footballer of the Year, Asisat Oshoala, Ashleigh Plumptre and Tosin Demehin missed the first leg in Abuja last Friday due to injuries. It is hoped that they will be back to give every support to their teammates in the must-win battle. Even as Oshoala is no longer firing on all cylinders for the national team, she is still a big threat to any defence in the world. Her presence in the attack will surely fire up the Super Falcons who must score if the South Africans succeed in erasing their slim one goal advantage.
Apart from the expected return of the trio, it will be recalled that on the past three occasions that the Super Falcons failed to qualify for the Olympics, they were handled by indigenous coaches who were in acting capacity. However, this time, the Super Falcons are being coached by the experienced American Waldrum who agreed to a contract extension with the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF). Although many didn't rate him highly, after he guided the team to the quarter-finals at the last FIFA Women's World Cup in Australia and New Zealand, his critics repented almost immediately. When he made moves to leave the team, some of the new converts pleaded that the NFF should hand him another contract. So, this is another payback time. Waldrum must justify the new confidence reposed in him by Nigerian football fans. And the only way to reciprocate their gesture is to guide the Super Falcons to Paris.
Like the Super Eagles, the Super Falcons should make it a habit to beat the South African ladies any day, any time. That is what the Super Eagles are known for and it usually gladdens the heart of Nigerian football fans who jokingly refer to the Bafana Bafana (the boys, the Boys) as 'customers' or 'wives' who must submit to them at any given time. Although the South Africans have since called the match in Pretoria the mother of all battles, the Super Falcons should draw inspiration from the fact that their second Olympic appearance was at the expense of the Banyana Banyana.
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It is on record that the first meeting between the two countries at this level was the qualifiers for Athens 2004 and Nigeria triumphed 3-1 on aggregate. After a hard-fought 2-2 draw in Johannesburg, Mercy Akide scored the only goal in the reverse fixture in Abuja for the Super Falcons to qualify for their second Olympics. And in a round robin final round, South Africa was one of the countries the Super Falcons defeated en route to the Beijing 2008 Olympics. So, even as our hearts are pounding due to the odds that are against us, history favours the most successful women's football team in Africa, the Super Falcons to clinch the 2024 Olympics ticket away from home.
