Randy Waldrum: ‘I picked the best Nigeria players for the 2023 Women’s World Cup’

By Oyediji Oluwaseun Babatunde

Head Coach of Nigeria’s senior women’s national team, Randy Waldrum has finally responded to his critics following the announcement of his final 23-woman squad to represent the country at this year’s FIFA Women’s World Cup.

The 66-year-old American is facing criticisms from various quarters over the omissions of some players and the shunning of players plying their trade in the Nigerian domestic scene from his final roster for the mundial.

Notable exclusions from the squad include Las Planas midfielder Ngozi Okobi Okeoghene, Pitea forward Anam Imo, Monterrey’s Chinwendu Ihezuo, Lokomotiv Moscow’s Macleans Chinonyerem as well as defender Akudo Ogbonna.

Reacting to Okobi-Okeoghene’s exclusion, the Pittsburgh University coach insisted that he picked the best legs for the global showpiece.

“Without talking about who I picked and who I didn’t pick, I think it is fair to say we picked a group that we thought would give us a chance to win and when you have to pick just 23 players, it means some players will just have to be left off,” Waldrum told PUNCH.

While some alleged that Deborah Abiodun’s inclusion were owed to playing for his American team the former Trinidad and Tobago manager explained his preference for Abiodun, while stressing that she deserved her spot.

“Deborah Abiodun has been around in the last few camps and she had a good World Cup with the U-20 team, she is a very good young player. She is going to be a very good player for the Falcons for a very long time,” he concluded.

Nigeria will play Canada, co-host nation Australia and the Republic of Ireland in that order at the biggest-ever FIFA Women’s World Cup finals in history, with 32 teams set to debut at the championship.

The nine-time African champions will arrive in Australia on Tuesday, 4th July for a 15-day final camping programme before the finals begin on 20th July.