2023 Women’s World Cup
After securing a round of 16 draw against England, Super Falcons Coach, Randy Waldrum, has urged Nigerians to keep supporting his team, and maintained that he has confidence in his squad to edge the Lionesses in the round of 16 in Brisbane on Monday.
The 66 year-old led Nigeria to a comeback win against co-hosts, Australia, and draws against Canada and The Republic of Ireland were enough to assure the Super Falcons of a place in the next round, and the coach has mentioned that it would not be an easy task, but he believes in his team to do enough to move into the quarter final.
In a group many considered the group of death, Nigeria defeated the odds, and qualified, and coach has reminded his players of the feat they achieved, and wants the nostalgia of the group stage achievements to spur the Super Falcons on. Speaking to Victor Modo, Coach Waldrum said;
“I think a lot of people didn’t believe we would qualify.
“It was the group of death, the hardest, and that showed class, character, and competitiveness, considering we had a short period of time to prepare.
“I’m proud of them, but now that we made it out of the group, we don’t want our work here to be done. We want to continue, and I think the match against England is another challenge.”
The coach also mentioned that he is aware of the threat the Lionesses pose.
“We’re playing the European Champions now, they’re Champions for a reason, they’re quite a good team, we know that and we know that, but I think the players understand that we’ve played the Olympic gold medallist, and we’ve played Australia, that’s two teams in a row.
“I don’t think it will intimidate them at all, and now is the time to go out and perform. They’re extremely talented, with Lucy Bronze and Rachel Daly on the flank, and with the way James is playing, creating all kinds of havoc up front, the whole group are all extremely talented players, so we have to come up with a game plan to make sure we win.”
The coach sent a message to Nigerians, thanking them for the Support so far, and telling them to continue supporting the team.
“We appreciate your support, I know there were times you were not on my side, but I think now, they can see the work we’ve put in, the work the team has put in, and they are as prepared as they possibly can.
“Rest assured, they’re going to give you everything they have, every ounce of pride in wearing the Nigerian jersey, and we believe we can get a result, and the players believe that too.”
Nigeria will play against England on Monday, at the Brisbane Stadium.
