Desire Oparanozie: Nigeria forward laments missing the 2022 women’s Afcon

By Oyediji Oluwaseun Babatunde

Nigeria and Wuhan Giangda forward, Desire Oparanozie says she felt bad missing the 2022 Women’s Africa Cup of Nations (WAFCON) in Morocco.

Nine-time African champions couldn’t defend its title in Morocco after heartbreaking loss to the host in the semi-final but had already guarantee a ticket to the FIFA Women’s World Cup with a 1-0 quarterfinal win over Cameroon.

The result means Nigeria was unable to win a record-extending tenth title, having ended with no medals following third place 1-0 defeat to Zambia.

And the former Dijon captain, who made an impactful return in Haiti 2-1 and New Zealand 3-0 wins in March, scoring Nigeria’s last goal in the win over the Ferns gave her impression about the country’s forgettable outing.

“I felt bad, as I was part of the team. The Coach did all he could to make me part of the team but because of border restrictions in China during the COVID-19 period, it wasn’t possible.” Oparanozie told tobexmedia.com

“The biggest blow was Oshoala getting injured in the first game, that really compounded everything.

“I felt terribly bad we had a not-too-decent outing but most importantly the girls gave their all, winning against Cameroon for a World Cup slot and playing against the host country, the referees, and the overwhelming crowd with a heartwarming performance despite the loss in the semi-final.”

Nine-time African Champions will face Australia, New Zealand, and the Republic of Ireland in Group B of the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup.

The Board of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) during its last Executive Committee meeting expressed satisfaction with the new positive spirit and winning mentality in the camp of the senior women’s national team, Super Falcons, which has seen the team win its last three international matches.

With the bigger picture of the biggest-ever FIFA Women’s World Cup competition coming up in Australia and New Zealand this summer in mind, the Board admonished the technical crew to work even harder to give confidence to the players that they can indeed stand their own against the world’s best.

NFF stated that it will do even more to prepare the team for the big challenge with another grade A friendly match in Europe and a two-week camping in Australia before the kick-off of the tournament on 20 July.