FIFAWWC: Nigeria vs Canada Preview: Super Falcons eye winning start

The Nigeria women’s national team starts their quest for glory on Friday morning against Olympic champions Canada, at the Melbourne Rectangular Stadium.

The two nations have some history with each other, including a prior World Cup group meeting, where the Super Falcons edged a 1-0 win in the finale of the 2011 group stage thanks to Perpetua Nkwocha’s lone strike.

While Canada has participated in every Women’s World Cup final since missing the 1991 event, the Super Falcons have attended all nine of the editions.

Meanwhile, across five meetings at the international level, the Super Falcons have a pretty record of one win, two draws, and two defeats.

During Canada’s subsequent celebration tour in British Columbia, the hosts won 2-0  in the first match at B.C. Place in Vancouver but the rematch at Starlight Stadium in Victoria Nigeria matched their two goals to settle for a draw.

Considering Canada are Nigeria’s first World Cup opponent this year, we can anticipate a tactical duel that will highlight the best of women’s soccer as football enthusiasts.

Although, the Super Falcons are the lowest-ranked team in a group that also includes co-hosts Australia (10th), Canada (7th), and the Republic of Ireland (20th), Nigeria currently holds the 40th spot in the latest FIFA World Rankings.

However, with victories over Costa Rica, Haiti, and New Zealand in their last three games, Randy Waldrum’s team has garnered crucial confidence.

The Africans also recorded a massive 8-1 victory against the Queensland Lions FC in a warm-up match.

Ultimately, Nigeria and Canada are very similar in terms of physicality and capitalizing in transitional moments, and the story may well come down to who can do it better across the 90 minutes under the pressure of a World Cup group opener.