Women's World Cup: Home | Squads | Fixtures | Podcast The pathways offer a glimpse of what is possible when a team - England - is led by administrators with vision, a strategic plan and the resources to execute it, as opposed to another - Nigeria - that must wing its way through, year after year, cycle after cycle, with chaos and disorganization as a major staple. But tempered because England were highly favoured for a reason, having scored 80 goals in 10 games in qualifying, and 22 in six on their way to the European title.Įngland were far and away the runaway betting favourites to win, and that and, ultimately, the performance provided a mirror into the diametric pathways the teams have taken in the years since they first met. High because Nigeria had shown enough, after going toe-to-toe with Olympic champions Canada and beating Australia, to illustrate they could compete with the best teams in the world. Then, they looked dead and buried at halftime - trailing 3-0 - before storming back to tie the game 3-3 only for a red card to Patience Avre to leave them compromised Sissi won the game for Brazil with a spectacular freekick.Īnd so going into the quarterfinal against England, expectations were at once high and tempered. The Super Falcons went through the group stage unbeaten, for the first time in their history of participating at the competition, and kept three clean sheets from four games had they been a tad more adventurous in the final group game against Ireland, they could have won that fixture and topped the group ahead of tournament co-hosts Australia.Ī remarkable accomplishment that would have been.īut all of this is nothing less than Nigerian football fans have expected since the Super Falcons made their stunning run at the 1999 Women's World Cup, when they won two group games and played out a pulsating quarterfinal against Brazil. Nigeria were penalty kicks from reaching the quarterfinals of the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup ahead of England, European champions and one of the favourites for the tournament. Super Falcons show what Nigeria can achieve with a little less chaos You have reached a degraded version of because you're using an unsupported version of Internet Explorer.įor a complete experience, please upgrade or use a supported browser
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