Nigerian league players are ‘solutions’ to Super Falcons struggles – Ogbonda Whyte

By Oyediji Oluwaseun Babatunde

Confluence Queen’s coach, Ogbonda Whyte believes the invitation of players from the Nigeria Women Football League Premiership can solve the lull in form of the Super Falcons.

Esther Ogbonna of Rivers Angels was the only NWFL Premiership player on Nigeria roster for the maiden Revelation Cup in Mexico, where Nigeria finished third behind hosts and winners Mexico and second Colombia.

Esther Okoronkwo strike helped the Super Falcons ended its seven-match winless streak with a 1-0 win over Costa Rica and Ogbonda feels the presence of more Nigerian league stars could have avoid a dismal outing.

“It’s not good that the coach didn’t include more players in the NWFL because our league here is also strong. We expect to see a lot of our players in that team,” the former Ibom Angels gaffer told Brilla FM.

“From Bayelsa Queens, we were supposed to see one or two players that will make the Super Falcons team. There is Gloria Edet who is a good player. If she gets a national team invitation, she is going to give the foreign-based players a fight for a position and will make the team.

“One problem we are having with the national team is that the coach doesn’t want to work hard. That is the major reason why he doesn’t want to pick the league players. He just feels like picking foreign-based players and those that he had worked with in the university system in America where he coaches.

“He doesn’t want to work hard and that is the area we are looking to the Nigeria Football Federation to ensure that this coach comes to Nigeria. Home-based players are the ones that can change the style and pattern of play of the team to be able to get a good result against the likes of Canada and the Republic of Ireland. We have good home-based players that can win games for the Super Falcons.

“After the end of these matches, he returns to America doing nothing for the national team. He doesn’t monitor any player there or our league. When it’s time for competitions, he comes back for two or three weeks. This means we are wasting our money and not gaining anything from him.”

“I think so far so good, the Super Falcons have done well at the Revelation Cup despite the fact that they played three matches, lost two, and won one,” he continued.

“The tournament is part of the preparation and will go a long way in preparing the team’s confidence ahead of the World Cup proper.

“They have started winning and I think they will pick it up from there knowing fully well that they are going for the World Cup.”

Super Falcons’ opponents at next Summer’s World Cup are in a rich vein of form.  The Republic of Ireland forced a ten-match unbeaten streak while co-hosts, Australia recently won the Cup of Nations on home soil.

Canada played the United States Women’s National Team (USWNT), Brazil, and Japan at the 2023 SheBelieves Cup, a form Whyte isn’t worried about ahead of the global finals.

“I don’t see those wins from Nigeria’s World Cup opponents as a threat to Nigeria because that is just friendly games. The build-up games have their own spirit and the main competition has its own spirit,” he stressed.

“When the time for competition is around the corner, I believe Super Falcons will live up to expectations because they would want to make a name at the World Cup proper.

“This is just a preparation period and we too are preparing. Haven lost some few games will make Super Falcons work more harder so that they don’t lose matches at the Women’s World Cup.”