England vs Nigeria Preview: Super Falcons aim to upset Lionesses in Round of 16 duel

The Super Falcons finished second in Group B but with only one win and two draws in their opening round. The African side drew 0-0 with Olympic Champions Canada, however, they shocked co-hosts Australia with a 3-2 victory and were also goalless in the stalemate against Ireland.

Meanwhile, Sarina Wiegman’s side topped Group D with three wins. Although the 1-0 victories over Haiti and Denmark were a little underwhelming, given England’s status as European Champions, they hit their stride in the 6-1 victory over China.

Despite qualifying for every edition of the tournament since its inception in 1991, it is the first time the Super Falcons will be finishing their group stage undefeated and first time, reaching a consecutive Round of 16.

Having fought their way out of arguably one of the toughest pools, expect more of the same determination with Waldrum often utilising a fluid 4-2-3-1 formation to maximize impact as Nigeria aims for what would be a first win in the Women’s World Cup knockout stage since their 1999 impressive run.

The two sides had met once in the tournament history where the Lionesses won thanks to Karen Farley’s brace in a 3-2 victory in the final group game at the 1995 World Cup.

Since then, however, the Super Falcons have emerged victorious in each of the two friendly fixtures between the nations.

They triumphed 3-0 in a friendly against Hope Powell’s England in Reading in April 2004 and were 1-0 winners when the teams met in Norwich in July 2002, Florence Omagbemi’s goal settling matters.

The winners of this match will play in the quarter-finals against whichever team progresses from the knockout match between the second-placed side from Group F and the winners of Group H.