By Oyediji Oluwaseun Babatunde
After draw over Cameroon on Friday, what do the Super Falcons need to do to get over the line and reach the next stage?
Nigeria will seek to make amends from last Friday’s home draw by Indomitable Lionesses by beating the same opponents on Monday.
It was a keenly contested first leg with two goals from Nigeria being canceled for offside and fouls respectively.
It was hardly a convincing display by the Super Falcons, but the draw puts them in difficult, yet advantageous position, ahead of the second leg meeting in the third round of the qualifying series.
Here are the permutations lying ahead for Randy Waldrum’s side, and what they need to do to confirm their place in the fourth and final round.
They’ve been a bogey team for Nigeria in the past, but Nigeria now know—clearly—that one outright victory would confirm their place among the last four.
They can’t be caught by struggling Lionesses, so victory over their Central African rivals in their second leg clash on Monday, February 26—would see them inch closer to the berth and set them up against Tanzania or South Africa.
For the Super Falcons to advance, Waldrum’s team needs any form of victory over the Cameroonians.
A draw with the Indomitable Lionesses would not be enough to guarantee the Super Falcons their place in the fourth round, demonstrating just how strong the West Africans’ position is as the qualifying tournament progress.
Naija, would retain that advantage with only one more match to play if they hold off their opponents in their next competitive fixture. With the away goal rules scrapped, a draw for Cameroon will see Jean Baptiste Bisseck’s side take the game into extra time of 30 minutes.
Should the game end in a 1-1 or 2-2 draw, the Central African side take the match into extra time and possible penalties.
However, things start to get much more complicated for Nigeria if they fail to beat Cameroon in their next qualifier tie—the potentially decisive meeting between the two sides on Monday.
If Nigeria lose, they would both be opening the door for the Lionesses to beat them for the second time —lose their bragging rights to their long term foes—while the visitors could redeem their fading image as one of Africa’s powerhouses, having failed to qualify for the Women’s Africa Cup of Nations for the first time in their history.
Surely an unthinkable outcome for Waldrum and the NFF, as well proving the Falcons’ performances as a fluke at the Women’s World Cup recently, and bring back horrible memories of 2021 Aisha Buhari Cup and 2022 Women’s Afcon.
In this scenario, Waldrum’s contract extension would surely be a bad move, as it still wouldn’t allow Nigeria qualify for the global sporting showpiece for a shocking fourth time in the row, with the American being the first expatriate to achieve such an unwanted feat.
This would surely spell the end of another Nigerian women’s football generation’s Olympic dream as we know it…!
Cameroon are not new to this scenario as they beat Uganda 3-2 on aggregate after extra time in the previous round.
The route to London 2012 was blocked by Cameroon’s Indomitable Lionesses, who won a penalty shoot-out in Yaounde after both teams finished the two legs in a stalemate.
The Super Falcons have not been lucky with penalties recently under the watch of Waldrum. They crashed out of the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup on penalties to England after regulation time ended 2-2.
The same result was recorded in the semi-final of the 2022 Women’s Africa Cup of Nations (WAFCON) against host, Morocco. With this, the nine-time African champions will have to finish the game in regulation time to avoid another penalty heartbreak.
It is looking likely that the winner of the game will face African champions, South Africa in the final round of the qualifiers after Desiree Ellis’ side recorded a 3-0 away win over Tanzania.
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