Super Falcons Head Coach, Randy Waldrum, has admitted feeling disappointed that Nigeria failed to retain the 2022 Women’s Africa Cup of Nations ((WAFCON) which ended last night in Morocco.
Zambia’s Shepolopolo defeated the Super Falcons 1-0 on Friday night to win the consolatory third place bronze of WAFCON 2022.
Speaking to reporters at the weekend, Waldrum who has come under intense criticism by Nigeria’s Sporting media for his questionable game plans and substitutions during the competition, the American gaffer couldn’t hide his disappointment over the outcome of the match.
He admitted that the Nigerian coaching crew led by him would need to evaluate the team’s performance at WAFCON 2022.
“We were disappointed we didn’t win against Zambia and more pained about not getting to the final.
“We are a bit satisfied that we qualified for the World Cup, even though we wanted more. When you don’t achieve the goals that you want, in major tournaments like this, then you need to access, find and improve on some areas you think you should have done differently,” reasoned Waldrum.
But when reminded that qualifying for World Cup by the Super Falcons is almost a birth right, having never missed any edition of the editions since inception in 1991 in China, Waldrum emphasised: “To just make an assumption that Nigeria will qualify for every World Cup is not a good assumption.”
“You need to also consider the growth of women’s football in Africa. Most teams are much better now than they were 10 years ago,” he concluded defiantly.
