Super Falcons coach, Randy Waldrum's scorecard after one year on the job

The one -zero defeat to the Black Queens of Ghana in the second leg of the 2022 African Women Cup Of Nations qualifier played in Accra on Sunday 24 October 2021, is the last match the team played in the last twelve months. 

The American college soccer coach oversaw a total of ten games and won five of the games which include the first leg of the encounter between Nigeria and Ghana en route Morrocco 2022 of which the Super Falcons struggled to a 2-0 victory over the Ghanaians.  

The qualifier between Nigeria and Ghana over two legs is the only competitive game the coach is involved in as it were, and the team survived the Black Queens onslaught as they won by 2-1 on aggregate.  

This is a relief for the coach as failure to defeat Ghana over the two legs would have gotten the Super Falcons eliminated from the 2022 African Women Cup Of Nations as well as the 2023 World Cup. 

The struggles of the Nigerian side over the two legs summarized the struggles of the coach in trying to build a team that Nigerians can be proud of going forward.  

The coach needs to get better as soon as possible as the future of the coach with Nigeria lies in the next game in Morrocco 2022 qualifying match against Cote'd'ivoire over two legs early next year.

The team under Waldrum have no definitive style of play, the team struggles to dominate games, and find it hard to create chances which makes goal-scoring very difficult. 

These shortcomings were glaring in the Aisha Buhari Cup held in Lagos last September, where the team struggled to defeat Mali by 2-0 and lost to South Africa by 4-2 in the final. 

At the summer series in the United States of America, the team lost to Jamaica by 1-0 and to the Americans by 2-0 and battle to 3-3 draw against Portugal. 

Apart from the 9-0 thumping of Equatorial Guinea at the Turkish Women Cup, the struggles of the team in front of goals were evident as the team defeat CSKA Moscow FC and the Uzbekistan national team by 1-0, weaker sides by all standards, to win the four teams invitational in February 2021. 

Verdict 

The team has been largely average in the last twelve months, they lost 4 out of their last 7 games with poor goals' return of 9 goals during the period. 

The Super Falcons could only won two of their last seven games, drew one and conceded 10 goals in the process.

It must be stated that the Super Falcons scored 11 goals at the Turkish Super Cup with 9 of the goals scored against one team and conceded none in the three games played, since then it's been a downward trajectory for the team. 

Going forward 

The coach needs to improve on the numbers, by ensuring that he defines a winning style for the team and work on the blunt attack of the team. 

The immediate future is to ensure that Nigeria goes past the Lady Elephant of Cote'd'voire and qualify for the 2022 AWCON in Morrocco. 

Where the team will defend the title won in Ghana three years ago and also vie for a place at the 2023 World Cup by finishing at least in the semi-final of the competition.

Summary of the Waldum's last twelve months with the Super Falcons of Nigeria 

2022 Turkish Women Cup Champion 

Nigeria 1 vs 0 CSKA Moscow 

Nigeria 1 vs 0 Uzbekistan 

Nigeria 9 vs 0 Equatoria Guinea 

Came last in the Summer Series 

Nigeria 0 vs 1 Jamaica 

Nigeria 3 vs 3 Portugal 

Nigeria 0 vs 2 USA 

Finished second in the Aisha Buhari Cup 

Nigeria 2 vs 0 Mali 

Nigeria 2 vs 4 South Africa 

Qualify for the final round of AWCON qualifier 

Nigeria 2 vs 0 Ghana 

Nigeria 0 vs 1 Ghana 

Won 5, lost 4 drew 1 

Statistics and numbers 

0.9 - The average of goals conceded per match 

1 - The numbers of games drawn by the team 

2- The number of matches the team conceded more than two goals 

2- The average number of goals the team scored per 

2 - The number of matches the team won by 1-0 

2 - The number of matches lost by 1-0

3- The number of games the team scored just two goals 

3- The number of games the team failed to score

4- The number of matches the team lost 

4- The highest number of goals conceded in a match 

5- The number of matches the team won 

9- The highest number of goals the team scored in a match 

9- The total number of goals the team conceded.

10- The total number of games the team played 

20- The total number of goals the team scored

50% win rate 

40% lost rate 

10% Draw rate 

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Olusola Adebayo is a highly-skilled, enthusiastic, self-motivated writer with over 10 successful years of experience. 

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