Nigeria vs Cameroon: Things Super Falcons need to change

Defending champions of the Women’s Africa Cup of Nations Nigeria's Super Falcons will face a daunting task when they take on Cameroon in the first knockout round of the WAFCON 2022 on Thursday. 

The Super Falcons and the unbeaten Indomitable Lionesses will rekindle their rivalry when they clash in the quarter-final of the ongoing AWFCON tomorrow evening. 

Nigerian defender and captain Onome Ebi said that the Falcons have never missed the World Cup and are confident that the team will pick a ticket again in Morocco. 

However, after Nigeria started slowly and finished second in Group C behind South Africa, the teams have some weaknesses that must be worked on if they want to reach their goal - lifting the title for the 10th time. 

African Women's Footballer of the Year winners (Full List from 2001)

Who will the Super Falcons meet in the semifinals after Cameroon quarterfinal clash?

'I think we are ready to match up with any team'- Uchenna Kanu fired up after brace against Burundi

Here are some of the things the team needs to change and work on going into the knockout stages. 

Super Falcons got their groove back on against Botswana and Burundi to bounce back from the opening day defeat to South Africa. 

The victories were expected but the performances were not as assured as would be required from the Falcons. 

In the last game against the Swallows of Burundi, Nigeria dominated with over 59% possession and attempted 404 passes at 83% accuracy. 57 of those passes were long passes of which the team was accurate with just a little over 14%. 

The Falcons will need to use the ball better and cut out unnecessary long balls which cede possession to the opponent. 

Rasheedat Ajibade was arguably one of the best Nigerian players on the pitch against Burundi in the final match of the group stages. 

It is a credit to Ajibade’s quality that she scored one and assisted two from eight (8) passes while the team circulated the ball around the duo of Osinachi Ohale and captain, Onome Ebi. 

In terms of pass combinations, Ohale to Ebi (19) and Ebi to Ohale (18) accounted for the most combinations from the Nigerian team while Nicole Payne, the right-back, passed to Ohale 12 times. For comparison, Payne only found Ajibade on the RW just four (4) times. 

Following the slow start to the campaign by the Falcons, the jury has been out on coach Randy Waldrum.

Pulse Sports Nigeria reporters believe that Waldrum isn’t doing enough from the tactical side of the game to help the team and will need to improve on that if Nigeria is to bring home the title for the tenth. 

“Going forward, I think they need to work on the coach,” Pulse Sports Nigeria Reporter, Tunde said. 

“ Let’s be honest, it’s becoming clear that Waldrum doesn’t know what he wants to achieve on the football field. The team just enters and we rely on that Rasheedat Ajibade is there and she will do something and that is what has carried us through the group stages. 

“I am scared going into the game against Cameroon. Against the Indomitable Lionesses, he needs structure - it’s not that they (Cameroon) are that good but we need a structure in the knockout round because any defeat, we are out.”  

Women’s football enthusiast, Molat seems to agree with Tunde that coach Waldrum has to do better from the tactical side of things. 

“The coach needs to work more on his selections, especially in midfield and stop using players out of position,” Molat said.

“So far, the Falcons have proven to be growing into the tournament, but against Burundi, when the coach made his substitutions, the Swallows began to take control.”

“Against Cameroon, we saw what Ifeoma Onumonu did against Botswana, when she played in her rightful position, I expect the coach to play with players that are more mobile agile and young because the Cameroonians are very experienced even though they are not exactly flying at the moment.” 

While the Falcons expectedly dominated their last encounter against the Swallows, the team was anything but clinical in the final third. 

In the opening 45 minutes of the tie, Nigeria had 16 attempts on the Burundi goal with just four (4) on target. The second half was a better performance with seven on target from 10 attempts. 

According to Pulse Sports Reporter, Jidechi, the Falcons must cut down on their profligacy and take their opportunities. 

“It’s getting quite obvious per game that Waldrum might not be the best thing since sliced bread but the strikers need to take their opportunities more,” Jidechi said. 

“It is something that we have seen in recent games, where we created a lot of chances but they didn’t take the opportunities. The midfield has pretty been decent since the game against Botswana, I don’t know if it is because we’ve opponents that were not as strong as South Africa in the opener. But let’s hope that the midfield and the attack can do what they are meant to do.”