National Teams
Ashleigh Plumptre to make Super Falcons return against Cameroon in Paris 2024 Olympic qualifiers
By Samuel Ahmadu
Ashleigh Plumptre will be back with the Super Falcons when they face Cameroon in the third round of the 2024 CAF Women’s Olympic qualifying double header this month, NigeriaFootball can authoritatively report.
Following her inclusion in the team’s roster for the Indomitable Lionesses showdown by Randy Waldrum, the 25-year-old will return to the Super Falcons fold seven months after she embarked on a self-imposed break from international duties.
Plumptre has not featured for the Super Falcons since the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup’s Round of 16 clash with her country of birth England at Lang Park in Brisbane on August 7.
The 25-year-old joined Al-Ittihad in Saudi Arabia in September 2023 and despite her bright start to life in the Middle East; the defender has been absence from the Falcons team missing all their four games played post-Women’s World Cup.
The former Leicester City star had hit the ground running in the Middle East, scoring a hat-trick on her debut for Al-Ittihad and won the Player of the Month award for October. Her absence had raised concerns among her fans but the defender said it was a personal decision.
“I guess it has been a break. I haven’t been able to go to the upcoming, camp, like I said, it’s more of a personal decision while I take care of my body,” she told Nigeria Football exclusively last November.
During her absence, Nigeria played out a 1-1 draw in the first leg against Ethiopia before winning 4-0 in the reverse fixture to advance 5-1 on aggregate in the second round of the CAF Women’s Olympic qualifiers under interim coach Justin Madugu in October 2023.
In November 2023, the Super Falcons defeated Cape Verde 5-0 in the first leg before completing the double with a 2-1 away win to clinch their spot in the finals of the 2024 Africa Women’s Cup of Nations.
The first leg of the two-legged encounter will take place in Douala Cameroon on February 23, 2024. The return leg slated for Abuja, Nigeria’s capital will take place three days later.
The winner of the two-legged encounter will make it to the last round of the Women’s Olympic qualifiers, where they will slug it out with the winner between Tanzania or South Africa in the final round of the qualifying series in April 2024.
