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Nigeria midfielder Toni Payne emerge eighth in top 10 World Cup creators of chances
By Oyediji Oluwwaseun Babatunde
Nigeria forward, Toni Payne was amongst the top creators of chances during 90 minutes at the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup in Australia and New Zealand.
After the conclusion of the tournament which saw Spain emerge as champions on Sunday, FIFA released player statistics for the most successful dribblers, passers, tacklers, and creators feature, as well as the fastest players and the most distance covered on Tuesday.
The Sevilla player was ranked in the eighth position for the top ten most created chances inside 90 minutes.
She was able to gather a 2.3 ratio of chances created within 90 minutes ahead of Mina Tanaka (Japan) and Vicki Becho (France).
Players like Teresa Abelleira (Spain), Aoba Fujino (Japan), Kerolin (Brazil), Frida Maanum (Norway), Katherine Alvarado (Costa Rica), Leicy Santos (Colombia), and Selma Bacha (France) occupy the top seven positions on the list players with most chances created inside 90 minutes at the World Cup ahead of Payne.
Payne played all four games for the Super Falcons at the tournament against Canada, Australia, the Republic of Ireland, and England.
Toni is a 28-year-old Super Falcons forward. Silky and smooth on the ball, the American-born Nigerian was one of the key members of the team at the just concluded World Cup.
The nine-time African champions reached the Round of 16 of the Women’s World Cup for the second time after their appearance at the 2019 tournament in France.
Payne began her football career at the age of 18 for the Duke Blue Devils Women’s soccer team at Duke University in Durham North Carolina, United States of America (USA).
She spent three years with the team from 2013 to 2016 before moving to the Netherlands to join Ajax women’s team, spending a year with the Dutch Club (2016/2017).
Payne completed a transfer from Ajax to Sevilla in 2018, establishing herself as a first-team player with the Spanish team. She has scored 24 goals in 139 appearances for Sevilla at the time of writing.
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